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This  BOOK  may  be  kept  out  TWO  WEEKS 
ONLY,  and  is  subject  to  a  fine  of  FIVE 
CENTS  a  day  thereafter.  It  is  due  on  the 
day  indicated  below: 


PROCEEDINGS 


OF  THE 


American  Forest  Congress 

Held  at  Washington,  D.  C,  January  2  to  6,  1905, 
under  the  auspices  of  the 


AMERICAN  FORESTRY  ASSOCIATION 


Published  for  the  Association 
by  the 

H.  M.  SUTER  PUBLISHING  COMPANY 

WASHINGTON.  D.C. 

1905 


PREFACE 


The  American  Forest  Congress,  the  proceedings  of 
which  make  up  this  volume,  was  held  at  Washington, 
D.  C,  January  2  to  6,  1905,  under  the  auspices  of  the 
American  Forestry  Association.  The  purpose  of  this 
Congress,  as  stated  in  the  official  call,  was  "to  estab- 
lish a  broader  understanding  of  the  forest  in  its  rela- 
tion to  the  great  industries  depending  upon  it;  to 
advance  the  conservative  use  of  forest  resources  for 
both  the  present  and  future  need  of  these  industries; 
to  stimulate  and  unite  all  efforts  to  perpetuate  the 
forest  as  a  permanent  resource  of  the  nation." 

That  the  time  was  ripe  for  such  a  meeting  was 
proven  by  the  splendid  attendance,  both  in  numbers 
and  personnel,  from  every  section  of  the  country. 
From  its  inception  the  plan  for  the  Congress  had  the 
approval  of  the  President  of  the  United  States,  as  well 
as  many  of  the  most  prominent  persons  in  the  official 
and  industrial  life  of  the  country.  As  a  result  the 
American  Forest  Congress  turned  out  to  be  not  only 
the  most  important  meeting  ever  devoted  to  forestry 
in  the  United  States,  but  one  of  the  most  influential 
gatherings  that  has  given  its  attention  to  an  economic 
subject.  It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  from  the  date 
of  this  Congress  forestry  has  come  to  have  a  new 
meaning  to  the  American  people. 

It  was  the  wish  of  the  delegates  that,  in  view  of  the 
very  comprehensive  treatment  of  the  subject  of  forestry 
at  the  several  sessions  of  the  Congress,  that  the  pro- 
ceedings should  be  collected  in  permanent  form,  which 
explains  the  making  of  this  volume.     The  plan  fol- 


iv  PREFACE 

lowed  in  its  compilation  has  not  been  to  produce  a  ver- 
batim report  of  the  several  sessions  of  the  Congress, 
but  to  collect  the  full  list  of  papers  read  and  the  more 
important  impromptu  addresses  into  convenient  form 
for  reading  and  ready  reference. 


ORGANIZATION  OF  THE  CONGRESS 

Honorary  IprcslDcnt, 
THE  PRESIDENT  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES 

IpreeiDent  of  tbe  Congress, 
HON.  JAMES  WILSON 


dommittce  of  Arrangements, 


James  Wilson, 

Secretary  of  Agriculture. 
A.  J.  Cassatt, 

President,   Pennsylvania    Rail- 
road. 
Howard  Elliott, 

President,  Northern  Pacific  Ry. 
John  Hays  Hammond, 

Mining  Engineer. 
T.  J.  Grier, 

Supt.    Homestake    Mining    Co., 
Lead.  S.  Dak. 
Fred  Weyerhaeuser, 

St.  Paul,  Minn. 
N.  W.  McLeod, 

President,  Nat'l  Lumber  Manu- 
facturers Association. 
V.  H.  Beckman, 

Editor,    Pacific    Lumber     Trade 
Journal. 
R.  A.  Long, 

President,     Southern     Lumber 
Manufacturers  Association. 
George  K.  Smith, 

Secretary,  Nat'l  Lumber  Manu- 
facturers Association. 
Garret  Schenck, 

President,  Great  Northern  Paper 
Co. 
Thomas  F.  Walsh, 

President,    National    Irrigation 
Association. 
H.  B.  F.  Macfarland, 

President,  Board  of  District  Com- 
missioners. 
W.  S.  Harvey, 

Vice  -  President,     Pennsylvania 
Forestry  Association. 
John  Joy  Edson, 

President,  Washington  Loan  &. 
Trust  Co. 


Albert  Shaav, 

Editor,  Revieiv  of  Reviews. 
Whitelaw  Reid, 

Publisher,  New  York  Tribune. 
Redfield  Proctor, 

United  States  Senator  from  Ver- 
mont. 
Henry  C.  Hansb  rough, 

United  States  Senator  from  North 
Dakota, 
Nathan  B.  Scott, 

United  States  Senator  from  West 
Virginia. 
Thomas  R.  Bard, 

United  States  Senator  from  Cali- 
fornia. 
James  W.  Wadsworth, 

Member  of  Congress  from  New 
York. 
John  F.  Lacey, 

Member  of  Congress  from  Iowa. 
Frank  W.  Mondell, 

Member  of  Congress  from  Wyo- 
ming. 
Charles  D.  Walcott, 

Director,  U.  S.  Geological  Survey. 

GiFFORD  PiNCHOT, 

Forester,   U.    S.  Department  of 
Agriculture. 
F.  H.  Newell, 

Chief  Engineer,  U.  S.  Reclama- 
tion Ser\'ice. 
George  H.  Maxwell, 

Executive  Chairman,  The   Na- 
tional Irrigation  Association. 
B.  L.  Wiggins, 

Vice-chancellor,    University   of 
the  South. 
George  P.  Whittlesey, 

Director,  American  Forestry  As- 
sociation. 


VI 


ORGANIZATION    OK   THE    CONGRESS 


F.  J.  Hagenbarth, 

President,  National  Live  Stock 
Association. 
Jesse  Smith, 

President,  Utah  Wool  Growers' 
Association. 
H.  A.  Jastro, 

General  Supt.,  Kern  CountyLand 
Co.,  California. 

E.  S.  GOSNEY, 

Manager,     Gosney    &    Perkins 
Bank,  Flagstaff,  Ariz. 
W.  A.  Richards, 

Commissioner,  General  Land  Of- 
fice. 
B.  T.  Galloway, 

Chief,  Bureau  of  Plant  Industry. 
Overton  W.  Price, 

Associate   Forester,    Bureau    of 
Forestry. 


H.  S.  Graves, 

Director,  Yale  Forest  School. 
FiLiBERT  Roth, 

Director,    Forestry   Department 
University  of  Michigan. 

F.  V.  COVILLE, 

Botanist,  U.  S.  Department  of 
Agricvilture. 
Wm.  L.  Hall, 

Ass' t  Forester,  Bureau  of  Forestry 
James  B,  Adams, 

In  charge  of  Records,  Bureau  of 
Forestry, 
Hermann  von  Schrenk, 

Expert,  Bureau  of  Forestry. 
H.  M.  Suter, 

Editor,  Forestry  and  Irrigation. 
C.  J.  Blanchard, 

Statistician,   U.  S.  Reclamation 
Service. 


CONTENTS 


PART     T. 
FORESTRY  AS  A  NATIONAL  QUESTION 

The;  Forest  in  the  Life  oe  a  Nation 3 

President  Roosevelt. 
The  Generae  Need  oe  Forest  Preservation-. 13 

James  Wilson,   Secretary  of  Agriculture. 
The  Forest  Poijcy  oe  France 22 

J.  J.  Jusserand,  Ambassador  from  France. 
Attitude  oe  Educational  Institutions  Toward  Forestry    29 

B.  L.  Wiggins,  Vice-Chancellor,  University  of  the 
South. 
Importance  oe  the  Forests  to  Agriculture 42 

John  Lamb,  Member  of  Congress  from  Virginia. 
Dependence  of  Business  Interests  Upon  the  Forests..     51 

Howard     Elliott,     President,-     Northern     Pacific 
Railroad. 


PART     II. 

IMPORTANCE  OF  THE  PUBLIC  FOREST  LANDS 
TO  IRRIGATION. 

The  Close  Relation  Between  Forestry  and  Irrigation    53 

Guy  E.   Mitchell. 
Forests  and  Reservoirs 60 

F.  H.   Newell. 
Relation  of  Forest  Cover  to  Stream  flow 67 

J.  B.  Lippincott. 
Rights  of  Way  in  Forest  Reserves 81 

Morris  Bien. 


viii  ConTE:nTS 

Irrigation  Construction  and  Timber  SuppuES 87 

Arthur  P.  Davis. 

Impromptu  Addresses: 

H.    M.    Wilson 91 

J.   W.   Toiimey 93 


PART  III. 
THE  LUMBER  INDUSTRY  AND  THE  FORESTS. 

The  Lumberman's  Interest  in  Forestry 99 

N.  W.  McLeod. 
Changed  Attitude  of  Lumbermen  Toward  Forestry.  .. .  103 

J.  E.  Defebaugh. 
Is  Forestry  Practicable  on  Long  Leaf  Pine  Lands? 124 

John  L.  Kaul. 
Is  Forestry  Practicable  in  the  Northwest? 132 

Victor  H.  Beckman. 
Interest  of  Lumbermen  in  Conservative  Forestry 137 

F.  E.  Weyerhaeuser. 
Importance  of  Forestry  to  Woodworking  Industries...   142 

M.  C.  Moore. 
Is  Forestry  Practicable  in  the  Northeast? 147 

John  A.  Dix. 
Our  Pacific  Coast  Forests  and  Lumbering  as  Differ- 
ing FROM  Other  Forests i53 

George  P.  Emerson. 
Rise  in  Value  of  Stumpage 163 

James  T.  Barber. 
Importance  of  Lumber  Statistics 166 

George  K.  Smith. 
Opportunities  for  Lumbering  in  the  Philippines 173 

George  P.  Ahern. 
The  Lumber  Dealers'  Interest  in  Forest  Preservation  189 

George  W.   Hotchkiss. 
Cooperage  and  Its  Relation  to  Forestry i94 

John  A.  McCann. 


Contents  ix 

PART  IV. 

IMPORTANCE  OF  THE  PUBLIC  FOREST  LANDS  TO 
GRAZING. 

Practical  Results  of  the  Regulation  oe  Grazing  in 

THE  Forest  Reserves 210 

A.   F.    Potter. 
The  Protection  of  Home  Builders  in  the  Regulation  of 

Grazing  on  Forest  Reserves 218 

E.  S,  Gosney. 
The  Advantage  of  Cooperation  Between  the  Govern- 
ment AND  the  Live  Stock  Associations  in  the 

Regulation  and  Control  of  Grazing 228 

Fred    P.    Johnson. 
Necessity  of  Using  the  Forest  Reserves  for  Grazing 

Purposes 232 

Francis  E.  Warren. 
Sheep  Grazing  in  the  Forest  Reserves,  From  a  Lay- 
man's   Standpoint 242 

L.   H.   Pammel. 

Impromptu  Address 249 

R.  H.  Campbell. 


PART  V. 

RAILROADS  IN  RELATION  TO  THE  FOREST. 

What  Information  is  Most  Urgently  Needed  by  Rail- 
roads Regarding  Timber  Resources 253 

Charles  F.  Manderson. 
Work  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  in  Planting  Tim- 
ber FOR  Cross  Ties 260 

Joseph  T.  Richards. 
Is  it  Practicable  for  Railroads  to  Hold  Forest  Lands 

FOR  Future  Supplies  of  Timber.^ 265 

L.  E.  Johnson. 


X  Conte:nts 

Results  in  the  Preservative  Treatment  o?  Raieroad 

Timbers  to  Prolong  Durability 276 

Herman  von  Schrenk. 
Letter  Erom  Mr.  James  J.  Hill 290 

PART  VI. 

IMPORTANCE   OF   PUBLIC   FOREST   LANDS   TO 
MINING. 

The    Development    of    Water    Power    as    Related    to 

Forest  Reserves 293 

A.  L.  Fellows. 
Will  the  Administration  oe  the  Forest  Reserves  on 
A   Conservative   Basis    Retard   the   Develop- 
ment OE  Mining.? 302 

Seth  Bullock. 
Importance  oe  the  Public  Forest  Lands  to  Mining.  .. .  307 

T.  J.  Grier. 
Mining  in  the  Forest  Reserves 318 

F.  A.  Fenn. 
The  Value  oe  Forestry  to  Commercial  Interests 2)2)^ 

George  H.  Maxwell. 
Impromptu  Address 349 

David  T.  Day. 

PART  VII. 

NATIONAL  AND  STATE  FOREST  POLICY. 

Work  oe  the  Bureau  oe  Forestry 355 

Overton  W.  Price. 
Work    of    the    Geological    Survey    in    Mapping    the 

Reserves 364 

Charles  D.  Walcott. 
Work  of  the  General  Land  Office  in  the  Administra- 
tion OF  THE  Reserves 381 

W.  A.  Richards. 


Contents  xi 

A  Federal  Forest  Service 39i 

Gifford  Pinchot. 

Progress  in  Forest  Reservation  in  Pennsylvania 396 

J.  T.  Rothrock. 

Impromptu  Addresses: 

John    Lacy 403 

W.  A.  Reeder 409 

Edward    Everett    Hale 412 

W.  S.  Harvey 413 

Aubrey    White 419 

B.  E.  Fernow 424 

Mrs.  L.  P.  WilHams 428 

FiHbert    Roth 435 

C.  A.    Schenck 437 

Rutherford  P.  Hayes 439 

EHhu    Stewart 442 

G.    O.    Shields 444 

Charles  L.  Pack 446 

Resolutions 448 

List  of  Delegates 454 

Announcement  oe  American  Forestry  Association 473 


PART  I. 

FORESTRY  AS  A  NATIONAL  QUESTION. 


THE    FOREST     IN     THE    LIFE    OF    A 
NATION 

BY 

PRESIDENT  ROOSEVELT 

IT  IS  a  pleasure  to  greet  all  of  you  here  this 
afternoon,  but,  of  course,  especially  the  members 
of  the  American  Forest  Congress.  You  have  made, 
by  your  coming,  a  meeting  which  is  without  parallel 
in  the  history  of  forestry.  And,  Mr.  Secretary,  I 
must  take  this  opportunity  of  saying  to  you  what  you 
so  amply  deserve,  that  no  man  in  this  country  has 
done  so  much  as  you  have  done  in  the  last  eight  years 
to  make  it  possible  to  take  a  business  view  from  the 
standpoint  of  all  the  country  of  just  such  ques- 
tions as  this.  It  is  not  many  years  since  such 
a  meeting  as  this  would  have  been  regarded  as 
chimerical ;  the  thought  of  it  would  have  been  regarded 
as  absolutely  chimerical.  In  the  old  pioneer  days  the 
American  had  but  one  thought  about  a  tree,  and  that 
was  to  cut  it  down ;  and  the  mental  attitude  of  the 
nation  toward  the  forests  was  largely  conditioned  upon 
the  fact  that  the  life  work  of  the  earlier  generations 
of  our  people  had  been  of  necessity  to  hew  down  the 
forests,  for  they  had  to  make  clearings  on  which  to 
live ;  and  it  was  not  until  half  a  century  of  our  national 
life  had  passed  that  any  considerable  body  of  American 
citizens  began  to  live  under  conditions  where  the  tree 
ceased  to  be  something  to  be  cleared  off  the  earth. 
Library 
N,  C.   State    Colleere 


4  Proci:edings  o?  the 

It  always  takes  time  to  get  the  mind  of  a  people 
accustomed  to  any  change  in  conditions,  and  it  took 
a  long  time  to  get  the  mind  of  our  people,  as  a  whole, 
accustomed  to  the  fact  that  they  had  to  alter  their 
attitude  toward  the  forests.  For  the  first  time  the 
great  business  and  the  forest  interests  of  the  nation 
have  joined  together,  through  delegates  altogether 
worthy  of  the  organizations  they  represent,  to  consider 
their  individaul  and  their  common  interests  in  the 
forest.  This  Congress  may  well  be  called  a  meeting 
of  forest  users,  for  that  the  users  of  the  forest  come 
together  to  consider  how  best  to  combine  use  with 
preservation  is  the  significant  fact  of  the  meeting,  the 
fact  full  of  powerful  promise  for  the  forests  of  the 
future. 

The  producers,  the  manufacturers,  and  the  great 
common  carriers  of  the  nation  had  long  failed  to 
realize  their  true  and  vital  relation  to  the  great  forests 
of  the  United  States,  and  the  forests  and  industries 
both  suffered  from  that  failure.  The  suffering  of  the 
industries  in  such  case  comes  after  the  destruction 
of  the  forests,  but  it  is  just  as  inevitable  as  that 
destruction.  If  the  forest  is  destroyed  it  is  only  a 
question  of  a  relatively  short  time  before  the  business 
interests  suffer  in  consequence.  All  of  you  know 
that  there  is  opportunity  in  any  new  country  for  the 
development  of  the  type  of  temporary  inhabitant  whose 
idea  is  to  skin  the  country  and  go  somewhere  else. 
You  all  know%  and  especially  those  of  you  from  the 
West,  the  individual  whose  idea  of  developing  the 
country  is  to  cut  every  stick  of  timber  off  of  it  and 
then  leave  a  barren  desert  for  the  homemaker  who 
comes  in  after  him.  That  man  is  a  curse  and  not  a 
blessing  to  the  country.  The  prop  of  the  country 
must  be  the  business  man  who  intends  so  to  run  his 


Ami^rican  Forest  Congress  5 

business  that  it  will  be  profitable  for  his  children 
after  him.  That  is  the  type  of  business  that  it  is 
worth  while  to  develop.  The  time  of  indifference  and 
misunderstanding  has  gone  by. 

Your  coming  is  a  very  great  step  toward  the  solution 
of  the  forest  problem — a  problem  which  cannot  be 
settled  until  it  is  settled  right.  And  it  cannot  be  settled 
right  until  the  forces  which  bring  that  settlement  about 
come,  not  from  the  Government,  not  even  from  the 
newspapers  and  from  public  sentiment  in  general,  but 
from  the  active,  intelligent,  and  effective  interest  of 
the  men  to  whom  the  forest  is  important  from  the 
business  point  of  view,  because  they  use  it  and  its 
product,  and  whose  interest  is  therefore  concrete 
instead  of  general  and  diffuse.  I  do  not  in  the  least 
underrate  the  power  of  an  awakened  public  opinion; 
but  in  the  final  test  it  will  be  the  attitude  of  the 
industries  of  the  country  which  more  than  anything 
else  will  determine  whether  or  not  our  forests  are  to 
be  preserved.  It  is  because  of  their  recognition  of 
that  prime  material  fact  that  so  much  has  been  accom- 
plished, Mr.  Wilson,  by  those  interested  under  you 
and  in  the  other  departments  of  the  Government  in 
the  preservation  of  the  forests.  We  want  the  active 
and  zealous  help  of  every  man  farsighted  enough  to 
realize  the  importance  from  the  standpoint  of  the 
nation's  welfare  in  the  future  of  preserving  the  forests ; 
but  that  help  by  itself  will  not  avail.  It  will  not  even 
be  the  main  factor  in  bringing  about  the  result  toward 
which  we  are  striving;  the  main  factor  must  come  from 
the  intelligence  of  the  business  interests  concerned,  so 
that  the  manufacturer,  the  railway  man,  the  miner, 
the  lumberman,  the  dealer  in  lumber,  shall  appreciate 
that  it  is  of  direct  interest  to  them  to  preserve  through 
use  instead  of  waste  the  great  resources  upon  which 


6  Proceedings  o^  the 

they  depend  for  the  successful  development  of  their 
business.  This  is  true  because  by  far  the  greater  part 
of  all  our  forests  must  pass  into  the  hands  of  forest 
users,  whether  directly  or  through  the  Government, 
which  will  continue  to  hold  some  of  them  but  only  as 
trustee.  The  forest  is  for  use,  and  its  users  will  decide 
its  future.  It  was  only  a  few  years  ago  that  the 
practical  lumberman  felt  that  the  forest  expert  was  a 
man  who  wished  to  see  the  forests  preserved  as  bric-a- 
brac,  and  the  American  business  man  was  not  prepared 
to  do  much  from  the  bric-a-brac  standpoint.  Now  I 
think  we  have  got  a  working  agreement  between  the 
forester  and  the  business  man  whose  business  is  the 
use  of  the  forest.  We  have  got  them  to  come  together 
with  the  understanding  that  they  must  work  for  a 
common  end — work  to  see  the  forest  preserved  for 
use.  The  great  significance  of  this  Congress  comes 
from  the  fact  that  henceforth  the  movement  for  the 
conservative  use  of  the  forest  is  to  come  mainly  from 
within,  not  from  without;  from  the  men  who  are 
actively  interested  in  the  use  of  the  forest  in  one  way 
or  another,  even  more  than  from  those  whose  interest 
is  philanthropic  and  general.  The  difference  means^ 
as  the  difference  in  such  a  case  always  does  mean,  to 
a  large  extent  the  difference  between  mere  agitation 
and  actual  execution,  between  the  hope  of  accomplish- 
ment and  the  thing  done.  We  believe  that  at  last 
forces  have  been  set  in  motion  which  will  convert  the 
once  distant  prospect  of  the  conservation  of  the  forest 
by  wise  use  into  the  practical  accomplishment  of  that 
great  end ;  and  of  this  most  hopeful  and  significant  fact 
the  coming  together  of  this  Congress  is  the  sufficient 
proof. 

I  shall  not  pretend  this  afternoon  to  even  describe 
to  you  the  place  of  the  forest  in  the  life  of  any  nation, 


Ame:rican  Forest  Congress  7 

and  especially  of  its  place  in  the  United  States.  The 
great  industries  of  agriculture,  transportation,  mining, 
grazing,  and,  of  course,  lumbering,  are  each  one  of 
them  vitally  and  immediately  dependent  upon  wood, 
water,  or  grass  from  the  forest.  The  manufacturing 
industries,  whether  or  not  wood  enters  directly  into 
their  finished  product,  are  scarcely,  if  at  all,  less 
dependent  upon  the  forest  than  those  whose  connection 
with  it  is  obvious  and  direct.  Wood  is  an  indispensable 
part  of  the  material  structure  upon  which  civilization 
rests;  and  it  is  to  be  remembered  always  that  the 
immense  increase  of  the  use  of  iron  and  substitutes  for 
wood  in  many  structures,  while  it  has  meant  a  relative 
decrease  in  the  amount  of  wood  used,  has  been  accom- 
panied by  an  absolute  increase  in  the  amount  of  wood 
used.  More  wood  is  used  than  ever  before  in  our 
history.  Thus,  the  consumption  of  wood  in  shipbuild- 
ing is  far  larger  than  it  was  before  the  discovery  of  the 
art  of  building  iron  ships,  because  vastly  more  ships 
are  built.  Larger  supplies  of  building  lumber  are 
required,  directly  or  indirectly,  for  use  in  the  construc- 
tion of  the  brick  and  steel  and  stone  structures  of  great 
modern  cities  than  were  consumed  by  the  compara- 
tively few  and  comparatively  small  wooden  buildings 
in  the  earlier  stages  of  these  same  cities.  It  is  as  sure 
as  anything  can  be  that  we  will  see  in  the  future  a 
steadily  increasing  demand  for  wood  in  our  manufac- 
turing industries. 

There  is  one  point  I  want  to  speak  about  in  addition 
to  the  uses  of  the  forest  to  which  I  have  already 
alluded.  Those  of  us  who  have  lived  on  the  great 
plains,  who  are  acquainted  with  the  conditions  in  parts 
of  Oklahoma,  Nebraska,  Kansas,  and  the  Dakotas, 
know  that  wood  forms  an  immensely  portentous  ele- 
ment  in   helping  the   farmer   on   these   plains   battle 


8  Proceejdings  of  the; 

against  his  worst  enemy — wind.  The  use  of  forests 
as  windbreaks  out  on  the  plains,  where  the  tree  does 
not  grow  unless  men  help  it,  is  of  enormous  impor- 
tance, and,  Mr.  Wilson,  among  the  many  services 
performed  by  the  public-spirited  statesman  who  once 
occupied  the  position  that  you  now  hold,  none  was 
greater  than  what  the  late  Secretary  of  Agriculture, 
Mr.  Morton,  did  in  teaching,  by  actual  example  as 
well  as  by  precept,  the  people  of  the  treeless  regions 
the  immense  advantage  of  the  cultivation  of  trees. 
When  wood,  dead  or  alive,  is  demanded  in  so 
many  ways,  and  when  this  demand  will  undoubt- 
edly increase,  it  is  a  fair  question,  then,  whether  the 
vast  demands  of  the  future  upon  our  forests  are  likely 
to  be  met.  You  are  mighty  poor  Americans  if  your 
care  for  the  well-being  of  this  country  is  limited  to 
hoping  that  that  well-being  will  last  out  your  own 
generation.  No  man,  here  or  elsewhere,  is  entitled 
to  call  himself  a  decent  citizen  if  he  does  not  try  to  do 
his  part  toward  seeing  that  our  national  policies  are 
shaped  for  the  advantage  of  our  children  and  our 
children's  children.  Our  country,  we  have  faith 
to  believe,  is  only  at  the  beginning  of  its  growth. 
Unless  the  forests  of  the  United  States  can  be 
made  ready  to  meet  the  vast  demands  which  this 
growth  will  inevitably  bring,  commercial  disaster,  that 
means  disaster  to  the  whole  country,  is  inevitable. 
The  railroads  must  have  ties,  and  the  general  opinion 
is  that  no  efficient  substitute  for  wood  for  this  purpose 
has  been  devised.  The  miner  must  have  timber  or  he 
cannot  operate  his  mine,  and  in  very  many  cases  the 
profit  which  mining  yields  is  directly  proportionate  to 
the  cost  of  timber  supply.  The  farmer,  east  and  west, 
must  have  timber  for  numberless  uses  on  his  farm,  and 
he  must  be  protected,  by  forest  cover  upon  the  head- 


American  Forest  Congress  9 

waters  of  the  streams  he  uses,  against  floods  in  the 
East  and  the  lack  of  water  for  irrigation  in  the  West. 
The  stockman  must  have  fence  posts,  and  very  often 
he  must  have  summer  range  for  his  stock  in  the 
national  forest  reserves.  In  a  word,  both  the  pro- 
duction of  the  great  staples  upon  which  our  prosperity- 
depends,  and  their  movement  in  commerce  throughout 
the  United  States,  are  inseparably  dependent  upon  the 
existence  of  permanent  and  suitable  supplies  from  the 
forest  at  a  reasonable  cost. 

If  the  present  rate  of  forest  destruction  is  allowed  to 
continue,  with  nothing  to  offset  it,  a  timber  famine  in 
the  future  is  inevitable.  Fire,  wasteful  and  destructive 
forms  of  lumbering,  and  the  legitimate  use,  taken 
together,  are  destroying  our  forest  resources  far  more 
rapidly  than  they  are  being  replaced.  It  is  difficult 
to  imagine  what  such  a  timber  famine  would  mean  to 
our  resources.  And  the  period  of  recovery  from  the 
injuries  which  a  timber  famine  would  entail  would  be 
measured  by  the  slow  growth  of  the  trees  themselves. 
Remember,  that  you  can  prevent  such  a  timber  famine 
occurring  by  wise  action  taken  in  time,  but  once  the 
famine  occurs  there  is  no  possible  way  of  hurrying  the 
growth  of  the  trees  necessary  to  relieve  it.  You  have 
got  to  act  in  time  or  else  the  nation  would  have  to 
submit  to  prolonged  suffering  after  it  had  become  too 
late  for  forethought  to  avail.  Fortunately,  the  remedy 
is  a  simple  one,  and  your  presence  here  to-day  is  a 
most  encouraging  sign  that  there  will  be  such  fore- 
thought. It  is  the  great  merit  of  the  Department  of 
Agriculture  in  the  forest  work  that  its  efforts  have 
been  directed  to  enlist  the  sympathy  and  cooperation 
of  the  users  of  wood,  water,  and  grass,  and  to  show 
that  forestry  will  and  does  pay,  rather  than  to  exhaust 
itself  in  the  futile  attempt  to  introduce  conservative 


lo  Proceedings  of  the 

methods  by  any  other  means.  I  beheve  most  emphat- 
ically in  sentiment,  but  I  want  the  sentiment  to  be  put 
into  cooperation  with  the  business  interests,  and  that 
is  what  is  being  done.  The  policy  is  one  of  helpfulness 
throughout,  and  never  of  hostility  or  coercion  toward 
any  legitimate  interest  whatever.  In  the  very  nature 
of  things  it  can  make  little  progress  apart  from  you. 
Whatever  it  may  be  possible  for  the  Government  to 
accomplish,  its  work  must  ultimately  fail  unless  your 
interest  and  support  give  it  permanence  and  power.  It 
is  only  as  the  producing  and  commercial  interests  of 
the  country  come  to  realize  that  they  need  to  have  trees 
growing  up  in  the  forest  no  less  than  they  need  the 
product  of  the  trees  cut  down,  that  we  may  hope  to 
see  the  permanent  prosperity  of  both  safely  secured. 

This  statement  is  true  not  only  as  to  forests  in 
private  ownership,  but  as  to  the  national  forests  as 
well.  Unless  the  men  from  the  West  believe  in  forest 
preservation  the  western  forests  cannot  be  preserved. 
We  here  at  the  headquarters  of  the  National  Govern- 
ment recognize  that  absolutely.  We  believe,  we  know, 
that  it  is  essential  for  the  well-being  of  the  people  of 
the  states  of  the  great  plains,  the  states  of  the  Rockies, 
the  states  of  the  Pacific  slope,  that  the  forests  shall  be 
preserved,  and  we  know  also  that  our  belief  will  count 
for  nothing  unless  the  people  of  those  states  themselves 
wish  to  preserve  the  forests.  If  they  do  we  can  help 
materially;  we  can  direct  their  efforts,  but  we  cannot 
save  the  forests  unless  they  wish  them  to  be  saved. 

I  ask,  with  all  the  intensity  that  I  am  capable,  that 
the  men  of  the  West  will  remember  the  sharp  distinc- 
tion I  have  just  drawn  between  the  'man  who 
skins  the  land  and  the  man  who  develops  the 
country.  I  am  going  to  work  with,  and  only  with, 
the  man  who  develops  the  country.     I  am  against  the 


American  Forest  Congress  ii 

land  skinner  every  time.  Our  policy  is  consistent  to 
give  to  every  portion  of  the  public  domain  its  highest 
possible  amount  of  use,  and,  of  course,  that  can  be 
given  only  through  the  hearty  cooperation  of  the  west- 
ern people. 

I  would  like  to  add  one  word  as  to  the  creation  of  a 
national  forest  service  which  I  have  recommended 
repeatedly  in  messages  to  Congress,  and  especially  in 
my  last.  I  wish  to  see  all  the  forest  work  of  the 
Government  concentrated  in  the  Department  of 
Agriculture.  It  is  folly  to  scatter  such  work, 
as  I  have  said  over  and  over  again,  and  the  policy 
which  this  administration  is  trying  to  carry  out  through 
the  creation  of  such  a  service  is  that  of  making  the 
national  forests  more  actively  and  more  permanently 
useful  to  the  people  of  the  West,  and  I  am  heartily 
glad  to  know  that  the  western  sentiment  supports  more 
and  more  vigorously  the  policy  of  setting  aside  national 
forests,  the  creation  of  a  national  forest  service,  and 
especially  the  policy  of  increasing  the  permanent  use- 
fulness of  these  forest  lands  to  all  who  come  in  contact 
with  them.  With  what  is  rapidly  getting  to  be  a 
practically  unbroken  sentiment  in  the  West  behind 
such  a  forest  policy,  with  what  is  rapidly  getting  to  be 
a  practically  unbroken  support  by  the  great  staple 
interests  behind  the  general  policy  of  the  conservative 
use  of  the  forests,  we  have  a  right  to  feel  that  we  have 
entered  on  an  era  of  great  and  lasting  progress.  Only 
entered  upon  it ;  much,  very  much,  remains  to  be  done ; 
and  as  in  every  other  department  of  human  activity 
our  debt  of  gratitude  will  be  due,  not  to  the  amiable 
but  shortsighted  optimist  who  thinks  you  have  made  a 
good  beginning  and  the  end  may  take  care  of  itself; 
still  less  to  the  man  who  sits  at  one  side  and  says  how 
poorly  the  work  is  being  done  by  those  who  are  doing 


12  Proceedings  of  the 

it;  but  to  the  men  who  try,  each  in  his  own  place, 
practically  to  forward  this  great  work.  That  is  the 
type  of  man  who  is  going  to  do  the  work,  and  it  is 
because  I  believe  that  we  have  enlisted  the  active, 
practical  sympathy  of  just  that  kind  of  man  in  this 
work  that  I  believe  the  future  of  this  policy  to  be  bright 
and  the  permanence  of  our  timber  supplies  more  nearly 
assured  than  at  any  previous  time  in  our  history.  To 
the  men  represented  in  this  Congress  this  great  result 
is  primarily  due. 

In  closing  I  wish  to  thank  you  who  are  here,  not 
merely  for  what  you  are  doing  in  this  particular  move- 
ment, but  for  the  fact  that  you  are  illustrating  what 
I  hope  I  may  call  the  typically  American  method  of 
meeting  questions  of  great  and  vital  importance  to  the 
nation — the  method  of  seeing  whether  the  individuals 
particularly  concerned  cannot  by  getting  together  and 
cooperating  with  the  Government  do  infinitely  more 
for  themselves  than  it  would  be  possible  for  any  gov- 
ernment under  the  sun  to  do  for  them.  I  believe  in 
the  future  of  this  movement,  because  I  think  you  have 
the  right  combination  of  qualities — the  quality  of 
individual  initiative,  the  quality  of  individual  resource- 
fulness, combined  with  the  quality  that  enables  you 
to  come  together  for  mutual  help,  and  having  so  come 
to  work  with  the  Government ;  and  I  pledge  you  in  the 
fullest  measure  the  support  of  the  Government  in  what 
you  are  doing. 


THE     GENERAL     NEED     OF     FOREST 
PRESERVATION 

BY 
JAMES  WILSON 

Secretary  of  Agriculture  and  Piesident  of  the  American  Forest  Congress 

f  MAKE  you  welcome  to  the  Federal  seat  of  Gov- 
ernment, to  consider  the  state  of  our  forests,  and 
of  our  lands  that  cry  aloud  for  want  of  trees  and  the 
peculiar  forest  conditions  that  cannot  exist  without 
their  presence. 

Forestry  is  not  a  local  question.  It  is  as  wide  as 
American  jurisdiction.  It  is  not  a  class  question;  it 
affects  everybody.  It  is  not  limited  by  latitude  or 
longitude,  by  State  lines  or  thermal  lines,  by  rivers 
or  mountain  ranges,  by  seas  or  lakes. 

Steel  has  taken  the  place  of  wood  for  fencing  to  a 
large  extent.  It  has  taken  the  place  of  wood  for  ships 
to  some  extent,  it  is  being  introduced  in  house-building, 
and  is  replacing  wood  extensively  in  the  making  of 
machinery  and  for  other  purposes.  Coal  and  gas  are 
taking  the  place  of  wood  as  fuel,  and  cement  is  taking 
its  place  for  building.  The  use  of  wood,  notwithstand- 
ing these  substitutes,  increases  every  year  and  our 
forests  steadily  vanish  before  the  axeman. 

The  extension  of  railroads,  the  settlement  of  the 
public  domain,  the  building  of  cities,  towns  and  vil- 
lages, the  use  of  wood  in  paper-making  and  the  open- 
ing of  mines,  call  for  more  wood  every  year,  and  the 
forests  respond  to  the  demand.  There  are  but  a  few 
large  reserves  left  from  which  to  draw  supplies.  The 
extreme  east,  the  extreme  west,  and  the  Gulf  coast  are 
now   sources  of  commercial   supply.     The   industries 


14  Proceedings  o^  the 

of  our  country  will  be  carried  on  at  greater  expense 
as  wood  becomes  scarcer  and  its  substitutes  become 
dearer.  Agriculture,  commerce  and  mining  will  great- 
ly miss  the  cheap  supply  of  wood  to  which  they  have 
been  accustomed. 

The  nation  is  awakening  to  the  necessity  of  planting 
trees  and  making  the  most  of  those  that  are  mature. 
Our  institutions  of  learning  are  taking  up  the  study 
of  forestry.  State  societies  are  inquiring.  The  ex- 
periment stations  of  the  several  States  and  Territories 
are  making  research.  The  Department  of  Agriculture 
is  training  a  Bureau  of  forest  experts  in  woodcraft 
to  serve  the  nation,  the  States,  companies  and  indi- 
viduals along  forestry  lines. 

There  are  hopeful  forestry  signs : 

A  disposition  among  lumber  companies  to  hold  cut- 
over  lands,  protect  them  from  fire,  encourage  a  new 
growth,  and  harvest  the  young  forest,  requires  the  es- 
tablishment of  forestry  schools  in  colleges  and  univer- 
sities where  the  science  of  forestry  is  being  taught  in 
the  light  of  experience. 

The  employment  of  foresters  by  large  private  own- 
ers, who  find  that  educated  supervision  is  a  prime 
necessity. 

Reforesting  of  large  areas  is  being  carried  on  by  the 
Bureau  of  Forestry  and  by  several  States,  for  the 
purpose  of  giving  object  lessons  to  our  people  with 
regard  to  methods  of  planting  and  varieties  of  trees. 
The  farmer  is  inquiring  and  planting  for  wind-breaks, 
fuel,  and  in  many  cases  he  is  planting  valuable  varieties 
for  coming  generations. 

Scientific  study  is  preparing  a  reliable  foundation 
for  practical  forestry,  with  regard  to  the  principles 
that  govern  the  life  of  trees  in  different  conditions  of 
soil  and  climate. 

Cooperation  between  the  Department  of  Agriculture 


American  Forest  Congress  15 

and  the  States,  and  with  companies  and  individuals, 
is  progressing  rapidly.  Our  trained  foresters  are  get- 
ting into  touch  with  the  college  and  experiment  station 
forces  of  the  States,  with  companies  that  hold  wood- 
land for  present  and  future  use,  and  with  individuals. 

The  Congress  is  giving  liberally  to  forest  research, 
enabling  us  to  do  systematic  work  with  wood  in  all  its 
uses. 

The  future  requires  planting  in  the  uplands,  at  the 
sources  of  all  our  streams,  that  should  never  be  de- 
nuded, to  make  the  hills  store  water  against  times  of 
drouth  and  to  modify  the  flooding  of  the  lowlands. 
We  have  to  tell  the  people  of  the  lower  Mississippi 
every  few  years  to  raise  their  levees  to  hold  the  floods 
that  exceed  themselves  as  the  forest  ceases  to  hold 
waters  that  in  previous  years  were  directed  into  the 
hills  and  held  back. 

Every  tree  is  beautiful,  every  grove  is  pleasant,  and 
every  forest  is  grand;  the  planting  and  care  of  trees 
is  exhilarating  and  a  pledge  of  faith  in  the  future; 
but  these  aesthetic  features,  though  elevating,  are  inci- 
dental ;  the  people  need  wood.  They  have  had  it  in 
abundance  and  have  been  prodigal  in  its  use,  as  we 
are  too  often  careless  of  blessings  that  seem  to  have 
no  end.  Our  history,  poetry  and  romance  are  inti- 
mately associated  with  the  woods.  Our  industries 
have  developed  more  rapidly  because  we  have  had 
plenty  of  cheap  timber.  Millions  of  acres  of  bare 
hillsides,  that  produce  nothing  profitably,  should  be 
growing  trees. 

We  are  beginning  a  meeting  which  is  national  in 
its  significance.  Never  before  in  this  country,  nor 
so  far  I  know  in  any  other  country,  has  a  body  of  men 
representing  such  great  and  varied  interests  come  to- 
gether to  discuss,  temperately  and  foresightedly,  the 
policy  and  the  methods  under  which  the  highest  per- 


i6  Proce:kdings  of  the 

manent  usefulness  of  the  forest  can  be  maintained. 
That  we,  men  as  varied  in  our  occupations  as  are  the 
industries  and  interests  we  represent,  are  drawn  to- 
gether by  this  common  cause,  may  well  mark  the 
beginning  of  a  new  era  in  our  treatment  of  the  forest. 
Your  presence  here  is  itself  the  best  possible  proof 
that  forestry  is  rapidly  taking  its  appropriate  place  as 
an  active  and  indispensable  factor  in  the  national 
economy.  The  era  of  forest  agitation  alone  has  en- 
tirely passed.  We  are  talking  less  and  doing  more. 
The  forest  problem,  as  President  Roosevelt  has  de- 
scribed it,  is  recognized  as  the  most  vital  internal 
problem  in  the  United  States,  and  we  are  at  work  upon 
it. 

Free  discussion  here  will  aid  greatly  towards  the 
best  solution  of  this  problem.  Above  all,  this  Con- 
gress affords  us  an  opportunity  to  formulate  a  forest 
policy  broad  enough  to  cover  all  minor  points  of  differ- 
ence, but  definite  and  clear  cut  enough  to  give  force 
and  direction  to  the  great  movement  behind  it.  In  the 
very  nature  of  things,  these  minor  points  of  difference 
will  continue  to  exist;  and  this  is  necessary  for  the 
highest  effectiveness  of  our  forest  work  in  the  long 
run.  But  we  are  facing  a  problem  which  can  be  met 
squarely  only  by  vigorous  and  united  action. 

I  look  for  excellent  results  from  the  deliberations 
of  this  Congress,  for  more  light  upon  vexed  questions, 
and  for  the  statement  of  new  and  useful  points  of  view. 
But  above  all,  I  hope  from  our  meeting  here  there 
will  come  a  more  complete  awakening  to  the  vastness 
of  our  common  interest  in  the  forest,  a  wider  under- 
standing of  the  great  problem  before  us,  and  a  still 
more  active  and  more  earnest  spirit  of  cooperation. 

Because  of  your  individual  achievement  in  your 
chosen  fields  this  is  a  great  gathering  and  a  most 


American  Forest  Congress  17 

effective  one.  It  is  upon  you  and  others  like  you  that 
the  future  of  our  forests  mainly  depends.  Unless 
you,  who  represent  the  business  interests  of  the  coun- 
try, take  hold  and  help,  forestry  can  be  nothing  but 
an  exotic,  a  purely  Government  enterprise,  outside  our 
industrial  life,  and  insignificant  in  its  influence  upon 
the  life  of  the  nation.  With  your  help,  it  will  become, 
and  is  becoming,  one  of  the  greater  powers  for  good. 
Without  forestry,  the  permanent  prosperity  of  the  in- 
dustries you  represent  is  impossible,  because  a  perma- 
nent supply  of  wood  and  water  can  come  only  from 
the  wise  use  of  the  forest,  and  in  no  other  way,  and 
that  supply  you  must  have. 

I  am  glad  to  see  the  irrigation  interests  so  strongly 
represented  here,  because  forestry  and  irrigation  go 
hand  in  hand  in  the  agricultural  development  of  the 
West.  The  West  must  have  water,  and  that  in  a  sure 
and  permanent  supply.  Unless  the  forests  at  the  head- 
waters of  the  streams  used  in  irrigation  are  protected, 
that  is  impossible,  and  irrigation  will  fail.  Unless 
we  practice  forestry  in  the  mountain  forests  of  the 
West,  the  expenditure  under  the  national  irrigation 
law  will  be  fruitless,  and  the  wise  policy  of  the  Gov- 
ernment in  the  agricultural  development  of  the  arid 
regions  will  utterly  fail.  Without  forestry,  national 
irrigation  will  be  merely  a  national  mistake.  The  re- 
lation in  the  arid  regions  between  the  area  under 
forest  and  the  area  in  farms  will  always  be  constant. 
We  can  maintain  the  present  water  supply  of  the 
West  by  the  protection  of  existing  forests.  In  exactly 
the  same  way,  we  can  increase  this  supply  by  the  for- 
esting of  denuded  watersheds.  The  full  development 
of  the  irrigation  policy  requires  more  than  the  protec- 
tion of  existing  forests — it  demands  their  extension 
also. 


i8  Procee:dings  of  the 

In  the  value  of  its  invested  capital  and  its  product, 
lumbering  ranks  fourth  among  our  great  industries. 
But  in  its  relation  to  the  forest  it  stands  first.  To 
bring  the  lumberman  and  the  forester  together  has 
been  the  earnest  and  constant  endeavor  of  the  Depart- 
ment of  Agriculture.  Ten  years  ago,  or  even  five 
years  ago,  we  did  not  fully  understand  each  other. 
To-day,  in  every  great  forest  region  in  the  United 
States,  lumbermen  and  foresters  are  working  together 
in  active,  hearty,  and  effective  cooperation  on  the  same 
ground. 

It  is  true  that  the  area  under  conservative  forest 
management  is  still  small,  but  the  leaven  is  working 
and  the  inauguration  of  new,  more  conservative,  and 
better  paying  methods  has  fully  begun.  What  the 
general  adoption  of  conservative  lumbering  will  mean 
to  the  individual  lumberman,  to  the  lumber  industry, 
and  to  the  country  as  a  whole,  is  beyond  estimate. 
And  it  is  coming,  because  it  will  pay. 

The  vast  area  of  the  timber  lands  of  the  United 
States  is  mainly  in  your  hands.  You  have  it  in  your 
power,  by  putting  forestry  into  effect  upon  the  lands 
you  own  and  control,  to  make  the  lumber  industry 
permanent,  and  you  will  lose  nothing  by  it.  If  you 
do  not,  then  the  lumber  industry  will  go  the  way  of 
the  buffalo  and  the  placer  mines  of  the  Sierra  Nevada. 
But  I  anticipate  no  such  result.  For  the  fact  is  that 
practical  forestry  is  being  adopted  by  American  lum- 
bermen. In  its  results  it  will  surpass  the  forestry 
practiced  in  any  other  country.  The  development 
of  practical  forestry  for  the  private  owner  has  been 
more  rapid  here  than  in  any  other  country,  and  I  look 
for  a  final  achievement  better  than  any  that  has  been 
reached  elsewhere. 

The  regulation  of  grazing  upon  the  public  forest 


American  Forest  Congress  19 

lands  is  a  forest  question,  and  like  all  other  national 
forest  questions  its  settlement  should  always  be  for  the 
best  interests  of  the  people  most  deeply  interested. 
Forest  reserves  are  essential  to  the  permanent  produc- 
tiveness of  that  portion  of  the  public  range  which  they 
enclose.  The  question  of  grazing  has  from  the  be- 
ginning been  the  chief  problem  in  the  management  of 
the  forest  reserves.  The  principles  which  control  the 
conservative  use  of  the  public  range  are  identical  with 
those  which  control  the  conservative  use  of  the  public 
forests.  The  objects  are  a  constant  supply  of  wood 
and  water  on  the  one  hand  and  of  forage  on  the  other. 
Just  as  the  saw  mills  must  eventually  shut  down  unless 
forestry  is  applied  to  the  forest  from  which  the  saw 
logs  come,  so  the  horses,  the  cattle,  and  the  sheep  of 
the  West  must  decrease  both  in  quality  and  number, 
unless  the  range  lands  of  the  arid  region  are  wisely 
used.  Over-grazing  is  just  as  fatal  to  the  live  stock 
industry  as  destructive  logging  is  to  the  lumber  in- 
dustry. The  highest  returns  from  the  forest  can  be 
had  only  through  recognizing  it  as  invested  capital, 
capable,  under  wise  management,  of  a  steady  and 
increasing  yield,  and  the  permanent  carrying  power 
of  the  range  can  be  maintained  or  increased  only  by 
the  wise  regulation  of  grazing. 

The  relation  of  railroads  to  the  forest  is  no  less  vital 
than  that  of  the  lumberman.  The  development  of 
systems  of  transportation  upon  a  secure  basis  depends 
directly  upon  the  preservation  and  wise  use  of  the 
forest.  Without  a  permanent  supply  of  wood  and 
water,  the  business  of  the  railroads  will  decline,  be- 
cause those  industries  upon  whose  production  that 
business  mainly  depends  cannot  prosper.  But  the 
railroads  are  interested  in  a  still  more  vital  way.  As 
great  and  increasing  consumers  of  wood  for  ties,  con- 


20  PrOCE:e:d1NGS   of   THE) 

struction  timbers,  poles,  and  cars,  they  are  in  direct 
and  urgent  need  of  permanent  sources  of  these  sup- 
pHes.  The  problem  directly  before  the  railroads  is, 
therefore,  the  forest  problem  in  all  its  parts.  Much 
may  be  done  by  the  preservative  treatment  of  ties  and 
railroad  timbers,  which  not  only  prolongs  their  life, 
but  also  leads  to  the  profitable  use  of  wood  of  inferior 
kinds  and  a  corresponding  decrease  in  the  drain  upon 
the  forest  and  the  cost  of  its  product.  But,  important 
as  this  is,  it  merely  mitigates  the  danger  instead  of 
removing  it.  For  their  own  protection  the  railroads 
must  see  to  it  that  the  supply  of  ties  and  timbers  in 
the  forest  itself  is  renewed  and  not  destroyed. 

The  importance  of  the  public  forest  lands  to  mining 
is  direct  and  intimate.  Mines  cannot  be  developed 
without  wood  any  more  than  arid  lands  can  become 
productive  without  water.  The  public  forest  lands 
are,  and  must  continue  to  be,  the  chief  source  of  tim- 
bers used  in  our  western  mines.  The  national  forest 
reserves  are  thus  vital  in  their  relation  to  mining; 
and  where  mining  is  the  chief  industry,  their  resources 
should  be  jealously  guarded  against  other  and  less 
productive  use.  Forest  reserves  impose  no  hampering 
restrictions  upon  the  development  of  mineral  wealth, 
either  within  their  borders  or  their  neighborhood,  and 
they  alone  can  give  the  western  mining  industry  a 
permanent  supply  of  wood,  and  so  assure  its  safety 
now  and  its  largest  development  in  the  future. 

I  am  particularly  glad  that  this  Congress  will  in- 
clude a  full  discussion  of  national  and  State  forest 
policy.  The  forest  movement  in  several  States  has 
already  resulted  in  the  adoption  of  definite  State  forest 
policies.  In  many  others,  the  time  is  ripe  for  useful 
work  because  of  the  existence  of  a  strong  sentiment 
for  the  best  use  of  the  forest.     The  forest  problems 


American  Forest  Congress  2i 

in  different  States  cannot  all  be  solved  in  exactly  the 
same  way.  The  methods  will  in  '  each  case  have  to 
be  worked  out  on  the  ground  where  they  will  be  used. 
But  we  have  before  us  here  the  same  opportunity  in 
State  forest  matters  as  in  other  phases  of  the  forest 
problem,  for  full  discussion  of  methods  and  results. 
Above  all  we  must  find  the  most  effective  means  of 
working  together  towards  the  same  great  ends. 


THE  FOREST  POLICY  OF  FRANCE. 

BY 
Mr.  J.  J.  JUSSERAND 

Ambassador  from  France 

I  AM  very  happy  to  be  enabled,  by  the  flattering 
invitation  of  the  Hon.  Secretary  of  Agriculture, 
to  add  French  congratulations  to  the  American  con- 
gratulations and  American  advice  which  this  Congress 
has  just  received  from  the  most  popular  and  most 
eloquent  voice  in  the  United  States. 

The  subject  of  your  studies  is  one  indeed  which 
appeals  most  powerfully  to  man's  mind,  not  to  say 
man's  heart.  The  forest  is  the  great  friend  which 
supplied  the  early  wants  of  mankind,  giving  the  first 
fuel,  helping  to  the  rearing  of  the  first  real  house. 
And  now,  after  the  lapse  of  thousands  of  years,  the 
forest  continues  the  great  friend,  so  adaptable  it  is  to 
our  wants.  The  more  we  invent,  the  greater  become 
our  new  needs,  and  the  more  necessary  is  the  forest 
for  us.  Railroads  are  called  in  French  "chemins  de 
jer^'  but  for  all  the  iron  in  them,  where  would  we  be 
without  the  forest  ?  It  supplies  the  dozen  million  cubic 
meters  of  wood  spent  every  year  in  the  world  for 
railways. 

The  forest  has  one  singular  and  providential  advan- 
tage over  most  of  the  earth-produced  elements  of  our 
industries.  When  we  have  exhausted  an  iron  mine, 
a  gold  mine,  an  oil  well,  a  supply  of  natural  gas ;  when 
the  oil  has  been  carried  in  immense  pipes  from  Chicago 
to  New  York  and  from  thence  to  our  private  lamps,  it 
is  finished;  we  can  consume  the  thing;  we  cannot 
make  it.     Not  so  with  the  forests.     It  is  in  our  hands 


Ame:rican  Forest  Congrkss  23 

to  improve  or  impair  them,  to  kill  them  or  to  make 
them  live.  As  to  v^hich  of  these  fates  is  in  store  for 
American  forests  your  presence  here  supplies  a  suf- 
ficient answer. 

But  is  there  need  to  do  anything,  or  have  we  plenty 
of  time  to  think  of  it?  The  country  is  immense,  its 
resources  prodigious.  The  nation  is  a  young  one; 
should  not  something  be  allowed  to  youth  ?  Certainly, 
anything,  except  what  might  maim  and  cramp  a  splen- 
did future. 

That  something  is  allowed,  especially  in  the  matter 
of  forests,  cannot  be  doubted.  One  of  the  first  things 
which  struck  me,  coming  over  to  America,  was  how 
much  was  allowed.  Going  north,  west  or  south,  sights 
of  the  same  sort  met  my  eyes  and  my  French  eyes 
opened  with  surprise.  Going  to  Saint  Louis  last  year, 
I  noticed  large  spaces  where  big  trees  had  been  cut, 
the  stumps  remaining  as  high  as  a  man's  shoulder.  So 
much  wood  lost,  I  thought;  so  much  land  untillable 
because  of  those  stumps  remaining  in  place !  Coming 
from  Canada  on  another  occasion  the  train  was  fol- 
lowing a  succession  of  what  should  have  been  beautiful 
valleys.  But  they  were  valleys  of  the  shadow  of  death. 
The  view  was  saddened  by  the  corpses  of  innumerable 
trees  which  had  been  cut,  for  what  cause  I  do  not 
know;  was  it  for  their  bark,  or  for  something  else? 
I  could  not  surmise.  But  the  fact  was  that  they  were 
there,  crumbling  to  pieces,  rotten  and  unavailable, 
spoiling  the  landscape,  and  making  the  soil  useless  by 
their  thousands  of  dead  bodies.  Going  to  Louisiana, 
in  another  case,  my  heart  bled  truly  at  seeing  the  blue 
sky  blackened  by  the  smoke  of  forests  in  flames.  This 
terrible  mode  of  clearing  the  ground  seems  to  be  still 
in  use;  and  I  noticed  places  where  the  fire,  being  not 
violent  enough,  had  not  cleared  the  ground,  but  had 


24  Proce:e:dings  o^.thf: 

ruined  and  killed  the  trees,  so  that  it  was  havoc  pure 
and  simple. 

All  this,  of  course,  are  a  foreigner's  impressions, 
and  perhaps  they  may  be  considered  unreasonable. 
You  are  young  and  wealthy ;  you  can  afford  to  spend. 
You  can  afford  to  spend  to-day,  and  to-day  is  certainly 
as  bright  as  it  can  be.  But,  as  you  know,  squandering 
habits,  when  once  taken,  are  most  difficult  to  check,  at 
a  moment's  notice,  just  at  the  time  wanted ;  and,  as 
your  eminent  President  remarked,  the  nation  should 
think  of  to-morrow. 

In  France,  we  think  much  about  to-morrows,  because 
we  have  known  so  many  yesterdays.  Our  case  is  very 
different.  We  have  not  your  boundless  resources ;  we 
must  husband  what  we  possess.  Our  land  is  limited, 
our  mines  of  small  importance ;  our  fields  have  been 
furrowed  by  the  plough  for  eighteen  centuries  more 
than  yours ;  the  accumulated  public  debts,  left  by  past 
regimes  or  caused  by  present  necessities,  weigh  on  our 
shoulders;  and  yet  with  this  weight,  at  this  day,  we 
stand,  and,  if  I  may  believe  what  I  hear  reported,  our 
friendship  is  still  worth  having,  as  well  worth  as  it 
was  ever  in  times  past. 

There  is  only  one  explanation :  What  we  do,  we  try 
to  do  it  with  method ;  what  we  do,  we  do  with  care. 
We  have  no  other  secret. 

There  is  nothing  lost  in  France,  nothing  thrown 
away — not  a  rag,  not  a  bit  of  bread,  not  a  stick  of 
wood.  Many  think  we  are  a  laughing,  singing  nation. 
If  we  were  such,  and  nothing  more,  we  should  have 
long  since  disappeared.  We  are  a  living  example  that 
people  may  love  to  have  their  laugh  and  their  song, 
and  yet  keep  their  forests  in  good  order.  Method  and 
gloom  do  not  go  necessarily  together. 

That  great  philosopher,  Bacon,  who  was  no  particu- 

Library 
-     N.   C    State   College 


Ame:rican   Forest  Congress  25 

lar  friend  of  the  French  (he  ended  badly,  you  know), 
paid  us,  in  one  of  his  essays,  this  half-hearted  com- 
pliment :  "The  French  are  wiser  than  they  seem." 
Well,  such  as  it  is,  I  accept  his  saying ;  to  have  wisdom 
is  the  thing,  and  it  little  imports  whether  it  is  apparent 
or  concealed.  Roots  are  not  visible,  and  you  know, 
you  foresters,  that  it  is  the  root  that  feeds. 

Our  policy  in  the  matter  of  forests  is  a  time-honored 
one.  Like  the  rest  of  the  inhabitants  of  our  land,  they 
have  their  own  code  of  laws,  the  ''Code  forcsticr," 
framed  and  issued  in  1827,  itself,  in  its  main  lines,  an 
adaptation  of  Colbert's  famous  ordinance  of  1669, 
which  ordinance,  in  its  turn,  reproduced  other  laws, 
some  dating  back  from  the  time  of  Charles-the-Wise, 
fourteenth  century. 

We  were  early  struck  by  the  necessity  of  preserving 
forests,  and  more  and  more  so  as  we  acquired  a  better 
knowledge  of  the  use  and  wants  of  these  friends  of 
man.  We  have  a  National  School  of  Forestry  at 
Nancy,  where  the  sound  principles  of  forestry  are 
taught.  The  practical  importance  of  this  teaching  is 
testified  to  by  so  many  foreign  students  whom  we  are 
happy  to  welcome  there,  some  coming  from  America 
— one,  an  eminent  one,  whom  I  would  name,  if  he  was 
not  so  near  me  on  this  platform  (Mr.  Pinchot). 

Our  forests  have  not  only  a  code,  but  an  army  of 
their  own,  an  army  of  six  thousand  men,  foresters, 
rangers  and  keepers — a  real  army,  submitted  to  mili- 
tary discipline,  so  much  so  that  in  time  of  war  this 
troop  is  transferred  from  the  Ministry  of  Agriculture, 
where  all  the  forestry  services  are  centered,  to  the 
Department  of  War. 

Several  laws  have  been  passed  since  the  code  was 
promulgated,  not  at  all  to  relax  its  rules,  but  to  make 
them  more  practical  and  efficient.     In  i860  a  law  was 


2.6  Proceedings  o:^  the 

enacted  making  it  obligatory  for  the  owner  of  moun- 
tains or  mountain  slopes  to  reforest  them  if  denuded. 
The  application  of  this  law  is  one  of  my  earliest 
souvenirs.  In  i860,  I  was  not  very,  very  old,  and  I 
went  often  with  my  grandfather  to  see  our  Govern- 
ment-ordered plantation.  The  Government  supplied 
the  seed  and  we  had  to  do  all  the  rest.  For  years  I 
went  to  see  our  trees,  and  I  had  difficulty  in  seeing 
them,  they  were  so  small.  Now  when  I  go,  the  trees 
can  scarcely  perceive  me,  they  are  so  tall. 

A  new  law  was  passed  in  1862,  giving  more  liberty 
to  the  landowner.  He  is  allowed  to  refuse  to  do  the 
work.  The  Government  has  then  the  right  to  pay  him 
a  fair  sum  for  his  land  and  expel  him  and  plant  the 
trees,  so  important  is  it  considered  for  the  whole  com- 
munity. For  the  importance  of  such  plantations  is 
more  and  more  apparent.  We  see  destruction  and 
poverty  invade  the  parts  where  the  rules  have  not  been 
applied ;  wealth  and  comfort  grow  in  those  where  the 
rules  have  been  followed.  Where  there  is  a  just  pro- 
portion of  forest  ground  the  temperature  is  more  equal, 
the  yielding  of  water  more  regular,  and,  as  President 
Roosevelt  has  so  well  shown  a  moment  ago,  forests 
have  a  most  beneficent  effect  with  regard  to  winds. 
Observations  in  the  South  of  France  have  shown  that, 
since  the  Esterel  has  been  reforested,  the  destructions 
caused  by  that  terrible  wind  called  the  mistral  have 
diminished. 

The  seacoasts  of  France  were  being  gradually 
invaded  by  the  sand,  and  the  wind  carried  this  death 
powder  further  inland,  as  years  passed  on.  In  1810, 
we  tried  forestry,  and  the  forest  showed  itself,  as  usual, 
the  friend  of  man.  The  sand  country  has  entirely 
disappeared,  as  well  on  the  Ocean  as  on  the  Channel, 
and  the  desolate  regions  of  yore  are  now  wealthy. 


American  F'orkst  Congress  27 

pleasant  ones,  where  people  even  flock  for  their  recre- 
ation and  their  health. 

The  same  careful  and  methodical  policy  is  being 
introduced  in  our  colonial  dominions.  There  the  dif- 
ficulties are  sometimes  very  great,  because  the  havoc 
has  been  more  complete.  We  try,  for  example,  to 
reinduce  trees  to  give  back  to  Southern  Tunis  its 
pristine  fertility.  Most  of  it  is  now  a  sand  desert. 
What  it  was  in  Roman  times  we  know  by  the  ruins  and 
the  inscriptions.  The  capital  of  the  South,  Suffetula, 
as  it  was  called,  consists  now  in  scattered  ruins  in  the 
midst  of  absolute  desert.  One  of  the  inscriptions  dis- 
covered contains  a  description  given  by  an  old  Roman 
veteran  of  what  his  villa  was.  He  had  retired  there 
after  his  campaigns,  and  describes  the  trees,  the  plots 
of  grass,  and  the  fluent  waters  which  adorned  his 
retreat — now  buried  under  the  shroud  of  the  desert 
sand. 

The  Arab  conquest  destroyed  all  the  trees  there,  and 
killed  the  forest.  The  punishment  was  not  long  to 
follow.  No  forest  there.  No  men.  Not  long  after 
the  conquest,  the  mischief  was  already  considerable, 
the  land  was  desolate,  and  an  Arab  chronicler,  seeing 
the  havoc  done,  recalled  in  his  book  the  former  times 
of  prosperity,  adding:  "But  in  those  days,  one  could 
walk  from  Tripoli  to  Tunis  in  the  shade/' 

I  shall  add  only  one  word.  There  are,  as  you  know 
full  well,  two  great  classes  of  forests,  and  no  more. 
There  is  the  wild  forest  and  there  is  the  civilized  forest. 
People  who  know  forests  only  through  books — I  mean 
through  bad  books,  not  the  books  written  by  members 
of  this  assembly — fancy  that  the  wild  forest  is  the 
thing.  A  time  there  was,  too,  when  people  thought 
that  the  wild  man,  the  man  in  the  state  of  nature,  was 
a  nest  of  virtues,  and  that,  leading  a  kind  of  simple 


28  Proc^e:dings  o^  the: 

life,  he  led  also,  of  necessity,  a  model  life.  The  truth 
is  quite  different :  Virtue,  like  all  plants  of  price,  needs 
cultivation;  forests  need  the  eye,  the  mind,  and  the 
heart  of  man.  Instead  of  being  full  of  the  most 
beautiful  and  useful  trees,  the  wild  forest  offers,  by 
comparison,  a  prodigiously  small  quantity  of  good 
trees ;  many  have  outlived  their  period  of  use,  and  they 
prevent  the  growth  of  others ;  many  have  grown 
crooked;  wicked  ones  have  injured  the  righteous. 

Now  the  question  is,  which  sort  of  forest  is  to  be 
favored  here?  It  is  a  great  thing  for  this  country  to 
know  what  your  intentions  are,  and  what  you  mean 
to  do.  In  doing  it,  in  fulfilling  your  duty  as  good 
foresters,  it  so  happens  that  you  will,  at  the  same  time, 
second  what  is  uppermost  in  the  mind  of  every  good 
American — that  is,  to  help,  so  far  as  is  in  you,  to  the 
spreading  of  civilization. 


T 


THE  ATTITUDE  OF  EDUCATIONAL  IN- 
STITUTIONS TOWARD  FORESTRY 

BY 

B.  LAWTON  WIGGINS,  LL.  D. 

Vice-chancellor,  University  of  the  South. 

HE  attitude  of  at  least  one  educational  institution 
toward  forestry  will  be  best  appreciated  through 
the  statement  of  the  following  few  facts : 

The  University  of  the  South  has  at  Sewanee,  Ten- 
nessee, what  is  perhaps  the  largest  university  campus 
in  the  world.  It  comprises  7,250  acres  of  land,  of 
which  6,500  acres  are  wooded.  In  1898,  Mr.  Gifford 
Pinchot,  Forester  of  the  United  States  Department  of 
Agriculture,  inspected  the  university  domain  and  made 
with  the  university  one  of  the  agreements  which  the 
Bureau  of  Forestry  has  for  cooperating  with  timber- 
land  owners  in  the  management  of  their  tracts.  To  be 
acceptable  to  the  university,  the  scheme  of  management 
had  to  provide  for  good  net  financial  returns,  for  we 
are  in  the  position  of  most  small  owners  of  timberland 
— unable  to  leave  much  merchantable  timber  in  the 
woods  or  to  reinvest  much  of  our  profit  in  forest 
improvements.  To  comply  with  the  requirements  of 
the  Bureau  of  Forestry,  the  working  plan  had  to  pro- 
vide for  leaving  the  forest  in  better  condition  than 
before ;  in  other  words,  the  working  plan  had  to  cover 
the  judicious  selection  of  the  trees  to  be  cut,  so  as  to 
favor  the  reproduction  and  growth  of  the  desirable 
kinds,  the  avoidance  of  damage  to  small  growth  and  of 
waste  in  cutting  logs,  and  protection  against  fire,  while 
at  the  same  time  assuring  a  profit  to  the  university. 


30  Proce:edings  o^  the: 

And  what  has  been  the  result?  I  recall  quite  dis- 
tinctly that  when  a  little  while  previously  a  lumberman 
offered  $2,000  for  the  major  portion  of  our  timber, 
there  were  those  in  authority  who  regarded  that  sum 
as  a  fair  valuation.  We  began  operations  under  the 
direction  of  foresters  in  1900,  and  have  cut  a  little  over 
two  million  board  feet  of  logs,  at  a  net  profit  of  about 
$7,250.  Two  years  more  of  cutting — and  profit — 
remain.  And  the  condition  of  the  forest  is  satisfactory 
to  the  Bureau  of  Forestry,  which  finds  that  there  are 
plenty  of  vigorous  small  trees  over  the  logged  area 
given  a  new  lease  of  life  owing  to  increased  light  and 
growing  space,  and  that  reproduction  of  the  best  kind 
has  taken  place,  even  little  yellow  poplars,  white  ashes, 
and  white  elms  being  found. 

This  has  furnished  an  object  lesson  for  our  imme- 
diate neighbors  and  for  representatives  of  the  entire 
South,  who  visit  our  beautiful  plateau  in  large  numbers 
every  summer.  They  can  see  and  hear  of  results  from 
the  practice  of  conservative  logging,  and  readily  under- 
stand the  attitude  of  the  University  of  the  South.  It 
is  a  zealous  missionary,  preaching  everywhere  and  at 
all  times  the  gospel  of  forestry. 

I  speak  to  you  this  afternoon  not  as  a  trained  pro- 
fessional forester,  but  as  one  whose  interest  in  the 
proper  management  of  timberland  has  been  quickened 
and  strengthened  by  the  above-mentioned  association 
with  foresters.  President  Roosevelt  has  told  us  that 
the  forest  problem  is  in  many  ways  the  most  vital 
internal  problem  in  the  United  States ;  that  "the  United 
States  is  exhausting  its  forest  supplies  far  more  rapidly 
than  they  are  being  produced;  that  the  situation  is 
grave,  and  there  is  only  one  remedy ;  that  that  remedy 
is  the  introduction  of  practical  forestry  on  a  large  scale, 
which  is,  of  course,  impossible  without  trained  men, 


Ame:rican  Fore:st  Congre:ss  31 

men  trained  in  the  closet  and  also  by  actual  field  work 
under  practical  conditions."  The  economic  peril  is 
coming  to  be  realized  everywhere — less  so  in  the  South 
perhaps  than  in  any  other  section,  though  even  there 
the  far-seeing  men  are  now  convinced  that  something 
should  be  done  to  prevent  the  diminution  of  water 
supplies,  the  occurrence  of  disastrous  floods,  and  the 
almost  inevitable  and  speedy  exhaustion  of  the  timber 
supply;  and  that  for  this  purpose  the  trained  hands 
and  heads  of  several  thousand  men  will  be  required  to 
start  and  continue  the  work  of  improving  our  woods. 
The  calls  for  the  assistance  of  the  Bureau  of  Fores- 
try indicate  the  demand  for  the  services  of  trained 
men,  and  this  constant  and  increasing  need  is  bound  to 
grow  larger  and  more  insistent  each  time  a  forester 
has  a  chance  to  create  practical  examples  of  his  useful 
and  necessary  sphere  in  the  welfare  of  the  nation. 
How  are  they  to  be  supplied  ? 

Europe  has  long  since  discovered  the  value  and 
necessity  of  "forest  schools,"  not  only  for  turning  out 
trained  specialists  in  the  art  of  forestry,  but  of  diffusing 
among  the  people  a  general  and  genuine  interest  in 
forestry;  for  creating  a  healthful  public  sentiment, 
which  constitutes  the  best  possible  protection  for  the 
woods;  for  leading  men  to  regard  forests  as  their 
friends  and  to  understand  their  influence  in  staying 
spring  torrents  and  preventing  summer  droughts,  and 
their  economic  value  in  supplying  lumber  and  fuel. 

Recent  federal  and  state  legislation  evidences  a 
growing  public  sentiment  in  favor  of  forestry,  but  we 
must  not  fail  to  realize  that  all  laws  which  are  not 
supported  by  a  general  public  sentiment  are  difficult 
of  operation. 

Ever  since  the  founding  of  the  American  Forestry 
Association  in  1882  the  need  of  providing  for  educa- 


32  Proceejdings  of  the 

tion  in  forestry  has  been  stressed  more  and  more  from 
year  to  year.  Yet  only  six  years  ago  Doctor  Fernow 
spoke  of  the  New  York  College  of  Forestry  as  "this 
novel  institution."  To  the  bounty  of  the  State  of  New 
York  the  first  professional  college  of  forestry  in  the 
United  States  owed  its  existence,  and  to  Cornell  Uni- 
versity belongs  the  credit  of  administering  it.  It 
began  its  first  course,  which  covered  four  years  of 
undergraduate  work,  in  1898  with  five  students.  When 
it  closed  in  1902,  on  account  of  the  omission  from  the 
state  appropriation  bill  of  the  clause  providing  funds 
for  its  maintenance  owing  to  misguided  and  selfish 
opposition,  it  had  forty-four  students  enrolled.  All 
who  completed  their  courses  promptly  secured  good 
positions.  In  fact,  the  pressure  for  the  services  of 
educated  foresters  was  so  great  that  leaves  of  absence 
before  graduation  were  allowed  to  some  graduates, 
and  one  senior  yielded  to  the  temptation  to  accept  a 
position  before  completing  his  course. 

The  Yale  Forest  School,  opened  in  1900,  was  the 
first  graduate  school  of  forestry  organized  in  this 
country.  To  quote  Professor  Graves'  own  language: 
"The  organization  had  in  mind  the  needs  of  two 
classes  of  men  required  to  carry  on  the  work  of  for- 
estry in  the  United  States:  First,  thoroughly  trained 
experts,  who  are  competent  to  organize  and  administer 
the  work  in  government,  state,  or  private  forests,  or 
to  pursue  the  necessary  scientific  study  of  our  forests ; 
and  second,  men  with  a  general  knowledge  of  forestry 
and  special  skill  as  woodsmen,  qualified  to  act  as 
rangers,  inspectors,  foremen,  etc.  The  first  class  of 
men  will  be  called  upon  to  assist  in  the  organization 
of  the  work  of  forestry  on  government,  state,  or 
private  tracts;  to  direct  legislation;  to  creat  public 
sentiment  in  favor  of  forestry ;  to  pursue  the  scientific 


American  F'ore:st  Congre:ss 


33 


study  of  our  trees  and  forests;  to  solve  the  difficult 
problems  of  the  influence  of  fire,  grazing,  and  excessive 
lumbering  on  forests,  as  well  as  the  problems  connected 
with  the  protection  of  the  head  waters  of  rivers;  and 
to  carry  on  and  direct  the  practical  management  of 
forests  of  every  character  and  size.  In  order  to  do 
this  work  intelligently  and  successfully  a  thorough 
special  training  in  forestry  is  required,  in  addition  to 
a  general  education.  The  forest  school  has  been  made 
a  graduate  department,  to  which  only  college  gradu- 
ates are  admitted  without  examination,  in  order  to 
attract  educated  men  to  forestry  and  to  produce  men 
of  the  highest  possible  training  for  the  work  of  devel- 
oping the  profession.  The  fact,  however,  was  not 
overlooked  that  there  is  a  class  of  work  for  which  so 
thorough  a  training  is  required,  and  the  summer  school 
is  especially  designed  to  furnish  instruction  sufficiently 
comprehensive  for  this  work." 

Notwithstanding  the  high  standing  required  for 
admission,  the  registration  has  increased  from  a  begin- 
ning of  five  to  sixty-three  at  present.  The  students 
have  come  from  thirty-three  of  the  United  States  and 
from  the  Philippines,  Japan,  South  Africa,.  Canada, 
and  Sweden.  In  one  respect,  says  President  Hadley, 
the  Yale  Forest  School  is  a  model  to  the  other  depart- 
ments of  the  university,  in  that  it  is  in  active  touch 
with  the  demands  of  practical  life  and  the  opportunities 
for  employment  therein.  It  gives  the  students  of  Yale 
an  assurance  that  side  by  side  with  their  training  in 
general  culture  and  public  spirit,  they  are  adapting 
themselves  to  speedy  usefulness  in  the  complex  organi- 
zation of  modern  commercial  life. 

The  Biltmore  Forest  School  opened  in  1897,  and  is 
therefore  the  oldest  in  the  United  States.  Although 
not  connected  with  an  established  educational  institu- 


34  Proc^e:dings  o^  the 

tion,  it  has  the  great  advantage  of  being  located  on 
Biltmore  estate,  where  Mr.  Pinchot  introduced  scien- 
tific forest  management  into  the  United  States  in  1891, 
which  good  work  has  been  kept  going  by  the  able 
founder  and  director  of  the  school,  Doctor  Schenck. 

The  two  years  of  graduate  forest  work  afforded 
by  the  University  of  Michigan  began  in  1903,  and  the 
department  has  grown  in  every  way. 

Harvard,  Maine,  Minnesota,  and  Nebraska  univer- 
sities, and  Iowa  State  College  of  Agriculture  and 
Mechanical  Arts  have  departments  of  forestry.  Most 
of  the  agricultural  colleges  offer  some  instruction  in 
forestry  in  connection  with  the  courses  in  botany, 
horticulture,  or  the  like. 

In  several  cases  high  schools  are  following  the  lead 
of  the  universities,  and  more  would  doubtless  do  so  if 
the  teachers  were  properly  equipped.  The  Secretary 
of  Agriculture  declares  that  the  rapid  increase  of  inter- 
est in  forestry  throughout  the  country  is  nowhere  more 
noticeable  than   in   educational   circles. 

Such  is  the  attitude  of  many  of  our  educational 
institutions  toward  forestry,  and  yet  only  a  short  time 
ago  I  heard  it  argued  that  instruction  in  forestry 
should  be  given  in  isolated,  independent  schools;  that 
it  should  constitute  no  part  of  a  university  course. 
Continental  Europe  settled  that  question  more  than 
a  quarter  of  a  century  ago,  when,  says  Mr.  B.  G. 
Northrup,  "a  congress  of  foresters,  which  was  at  Frei- 
burg and  attended  by  nearly  four  hundred  members, 
representing  all  parts  of  Germany,  Switzerland,  Aus- 
tria, and  Russia,  after  a  long  and  spirited  discussion 
by  prominent  professors  from  both  classes  of  forest 
schools,  decided  by  an  almost  unanimous  vote  (only 
sixteen  dissenting)  in  favor  of  combining  instruction 
in  forestry  with  other  departments  in  the  university; 


American  Forest  Congress  35 

and  this  leads  me  to  the  question,  "What  should  be  the 
attitude  of  our  universities  toward  forestry?" 

Is  not  a  university  a  place  of  universal  search  for 
universal  truth  ?  Let  whoever  is  disposed  to  be  impa- 
tient of  the  progress  that  is  being  made  reflect  upon 
the  history  of  recent  university  development.  We  must 
look  backward  in  order  to  look  forward. 

It  was  not  until  late  in  the  last  century  that  science 
received  recognition,  and  provision  was  made  for  its 
teaching.  When  graduates  of  American  colleges  real- 
ized that  they  had  failed  to  get  what  they  needed  for 
their  life  work  and  that  there  was  a  strong  prejudice 
against  the  admission  of  applied  sciences  on  a  proper 
basis,  they  began  to  endow  coordinate  faculties,  which 
continued  for  a  long  time  as  separate  faculties,  and 
are  not  even  now  completely  assimiliated.  It  was  some 
time  also  before  pure  science,  which  had  been  taught 
in  a  most  elementary  way,  met  with  a  suitable  response 
— that  chairs  were  established  and  equipments  pur- 
chased. Who  does  not  recall  the  crusade  of  science 
against  philology  and  the  conflict  which  was  waged 
almost  unremittingly  for  half  a  centur}'  or  more 
between  the  advocates  of  classical  and  scientific  study ; 
the  latter  claiming  that  we  must  reconstruct  our  aca- 
demic and  university  systems  after  the  inspiration  of 
modern  ideas,  and  must  substitute  those  studies  which 
would  be  more  efficient  in  their  disciplinary  value  and 
more  useful  by  reason  of  their  closer  affinities  with  the 
practical  tendencies  of  our  modern  scientific  life;  the 
former,  while  admitting  freely  the  claims  of  science, 
maintaining  that  the  classics  were  needed  more  than 
ever  to  resist  the  utilitarian  and  materialistic  tendencies 
of  the  age,  and  that  an  education  cannot  be  full-orbed 
and  rounded  oflf  without  the  classics.  Greek  and  Latin 
had  been  supreme  for  so  many  centuries  that  the  physi- 


36  Procekdings  o:^  the 

cal  and  natural  sciences  were  not  without  a  struggle 
admitted  to  equal  rank. 

This  led  to  a  readjustment  of  the  long-established 
and  closely  articulated  curriculum,  which  resulted 
finally  in  the  adoption  of  the  elective  system.  And  this 
was  the  beginning  of  a  recognition  granted  to  what 
one  might  call  the  new  learning — modern  science, 
economics,  political  science,  and  the  like,  which  proved, 
when  properly  taught,  in  no  respect  inferior  to  the 
subjects  of  the  old  curriculum,  either  in  training  the 
mind  or  preparing  for  future  careers.  The  limitations 
of  the  traditional  college  education  of  the  past,  which 
was  intended  for  only  certain  of  the  learned  profes- 
sions— law,  medicine,  and  particularly  theology — soon 
became  apparent.  The  world  was  moving  on.  New 
constituences  and  new  demands  were  arising,  new 
problems  were  being  projected  on  the  economic  and 
political  horizons,  new  questions  were  pressing  for 
answer.  Must  we  not  readjust  our  education  forces 
to  meet  the  needs  of  that  large  majority  of  men  pre- 
paring to  engage  in  banking,  railways,  insurance,  trade 
and  industry,  forestry,  diplomacy,  journalism,  and  pol- 
itics? Are  not  these  several  callings  as  important  to 
the  life  of  the  nation  as  the  traditional  professions? 
State  universities  derive  their  support  from  the  taxa- 
tion of  the  whole  people,  representing  in  a  large  meas- 
ure the  fruits  of  the  toil  and  self-denial — whether 
voluntary  or  enforced,  whether  direct  or  indirect — of 
the  common  people.  Are  they  justified  in  spending  so 
much  money  to  furnish  a  certain  kind  of  education  for 
the  benefit  of  a  privileged  class,  where  there  is  this 
growing  demand  for  the  diffusion  of  higher  learning, 
for  its  much  wider  application  to  the  daily  life  and 
institutions  of  the  whole  people? 

Do  not  all  professions  and  callings  require,  and  will 


American  Forest  Congress  37 

they  not  more  and  more  require,  thought  and  discip- 
Hnary  training  as  well  as  technical  training?  Is  it 
true,  as  Mr.  Carnegie  and  Mr.  Schwab  have  said,  that 
the  most  efficient  school  of  business  is  business?  If 
so,  ought  it  not  be  otherwise?  We  are  told  that 
President  Thwing,  who  has  been  looking  into  the 
matter  of  salaries  received  by  graduates  of  regular 
colleges  and  scientific  schools,  finds  that  in  the  long 
run  the  college  graduates  do  the  best;  that  scientific 
methods  are  supposed  to  fit  men  for  immediate  employ- 
ment; that  graduates  of  these  schools  seem  to  find 
employment  somewhat  more  readily  and  at  somev/hat 
higher  pay  than  the  college  graduate;  but  that  the 
difiference  is  not  great  even  at  first,  and  that  after  a 
few  years  the  college  graduate  has  the  best  of  it.  Only 
a  few  years  ago  a  director  of  the  Pennsylvania  system 
of  railroads  remarked  that  in  future  promotions  pref- 
erence would  be  given  college  men — men  who  had 
been  trained  in  the  principles  as  well  as  in  the  practice 
of  the  profession,  and  who  had  acquired  not  only  the 
technique,  but  also  the  capacity  to  think  and  to  com- 
prehend all  the  problems  which  might  arise.  For,  as 
Mr.  Laughlin  expressed  it,  ''While  a  school  of  mechan- 
ical engineering  is  required  to  fit  a  man  for  the 
practical  parts  of  railroading,  there  exists  in  that  pro- 
fession a  far  more  important  career  for  the  man  who 
is  competent  to  direct  the  traffic,  classify  goods,  fix 
rates,  watch  the  coming  financial  depression,  know  the 
signs  of  coming  prosperity,  have  insight  into  as  well 
as  experience  with  the  questions  of  labor  and  the  rela- 
tions of  employers  to  employees,  who  can  understand 
the  duties  as  well  as  the  privileges  of  corporations,  and 
who  has  the  masterly  mind  to  direct  and  carry  out 
great  financial  operations  involved  in  the  management 
of    securities    on    a    scale    hitherto    unprecedented." 


38  Proceedings  o^  the 

Purely  technical  or  engineering  training  will  not  then 
suffice  the  man  who  aspires  to  leadership  in  railroading 
or  in  any  like  calling;  he  must  be  schooled  in  legal, 
political,  and  economic  science  as  well. 

There  is  no  profession  I  know  of  that  requires  wider 
knowledge  than  does  forestry.  All  the  things  which 
the  best  railroad  man  needs,  the  successful  forester 
must  have,  with  more  besides.  Since  he  deals  scien- 
tifically with  the  soil  and  a  product  of  it,  he  must  be 
much  of  a  geologist,  botanist,  zoologist,  and  chemist. 
The  harvesting  and  manufacture  of  his  crop  calls  for 
no  mean  engineeVing  skill  and  knowledge.  The 
managing  of  his  property  is  likely  to  call  for  legal 
knowledge.  And  so  on  through  many  other  essentials 
in  his  education,  which  only  a  real  university  can  give 
him. 

Another  and  most  important  reason  why  forestry 
should  be  a  university  course  and  not  a  separate  school 
is  that  the  forester  is  above  all  a  man  with  practical 
problems  to  handle — a  man  who  must  come  in  contact 
with  men.  So  he  needs  the  democratizing  influence 
of  university  life,  the  broadening  of  his  point  of  view 
from  association  with  men  from  everywhere  and  with 
different  aims  in  life.  Without  this  breadth  of  view 
how  could  foresters  properly  handle  the  many  prob- 
lems discussed  before  this  Congress  ?  It  will  take  men 
far  more  catholic  than  those  who  academically  settle 
affairs  on  the  basis  of  knowledge  acquired  in  their 
back  yards  to  give  a  square  deal  to  all  the  interests 
concerned  in  the  creation  of  forest  reserves  and  in  the 
granting  of  timber  and  grazing  permits  on  them;  to 
devise  schemes  of  fire  prevention  and  extinction  for 
all  parts  of  our  overburned  country;  to  insure  the 
growing  of  the  right  kind  of  trees  in  the  right  places ; 
to   improve   our   already  expert  logging  and  milling 


American  Fore:st  Congress  39 

operations — no  easy  task,  for  the  skill  of  our  loggers 
and  lumbermen  is  proverbial. 

If  I  may  as  a  Southerner  use  my  section  of  the 
country  as  an  example  of  the  varied  problems  confront- 
ing the  forester,  I  will  say  that  we  need  him  to  point 
out  our  natural  forest  areas,  and  thus  save  us  the  time, 
effort,  and  substance  which  we  otherwise  might  waste 
in  clearing  them  only  to  find  through  bitter  experience 
that  they  would  grow  nothing  else  than  trees;  to 
indicate  the  methods  of  logging  which  would  insure 
the  perpetuation  of  our  standard  trees,  the  yellow 
poplar,  oaks,  hickories,  gums,  cypress,  and  pines.  One 
has  already  shown  us  a  way  to  gather  turpentine 
which  has  added  millions  to  the  revenues  of  the  pine 
belt  through  improving  the  product,  and  which  has 
greatly  lengthened  the  period  during  which  trees  may 
be  bled.  We  need  him  to  solve  our  fire  problem  and 
devise  means  for  prevention  of  and  protection  from 
this  arch  enemy  of  forest  management.  His  scientifi- 
cally established  facts  regarding  tree  growth,  influ- 
ences, and  value  present  and  future  will  strengthen 
our  pleas  to  state  legislatures  for  wisely  conceived, 
far-sighted  tax  laws. 

So  we  repeat  this  question:  Why  should  not  our 
universities  offer  courses  which  will  fit  men  for  all, 
instead  of  a  few,  professions?  I  know  there  are  dan- 
gers to  be  apprehended,  and  that  it  will  require  the 
utmost  care  to  avoid  the  Scylla  and  Charybdis  of  a 
narrow  utilitarianism  and  the  pursuit  of  art  and  science 
as  ends  in  themselves;  but  of  the  many  advantages, 
not  the  least  will  be  the  introduction  of  a  vitalizing 
and  democratizing  element  into  the  student  community 
which  will  cause  our  universities  to  come  forth  from 
their  cloistered  seclusion  into  a  closer  touch  with  the 
activities  of  life. 


40  PROCKKDINGS    OF    TH^ 

This  is  the  great  problem  of  the  twentieth  century. 
It  overshadows  all  others.  Signs  are  not  wanting  that 
we  shall  witness  the  full  realization  of  all  that 
President  Hadley  has  so  admirably  expressed  in  the 
following  words : 

"Our  brotherhood  knows  no  bounds  of  occupation. 
The  day  when  people  thought  of  the  learned  profes- 
sions as  something  set  apart  from  all  others,  the 
exclusive  property  of  a  privileged  few,  is  past.  Opin- 
ions may  differ  as  to  the  achievements  of  democracy; 
but  none  can  fail  to  value  that  growing  democracy  of 
letters  which  makes  of  every  calling  a  learned  and 
noble  profession,  when  it  is  pursued  wath  the  clearness 
of  vision  which  is  furnished  by  science  or  history  and 
with  the  disinterested  devotion  to  the  public  welfare 
which  true  learning  inspires.  We  are  proud  to  have 
with  us  not  only  the  theologian,  the  jurist,  or  the 
physician ;  not  merely  the  historical  investigator  or  the 
scientific  discoverer ;  but  the  men  of  every  name,  who, 
by  arms  or  arts,  in  letters  or  in  commerce,  have  con- 
tributed to  bring  all  callings  equally  within  the  scope 
of  university  life." 

We  are  about  to  see  the  proper  university  recogni- 
tion given  to  the  callings  upon  which  so  much  of  our 
national  welfare  depends — agriculture,  the  production 
and  harvesting  of  field  crops ;  silviculture,  the  produc- 
tion and  harvesting  of  forest  crops. 

For  the  fulfilment  of  this  prophecy,  the  recent  utter- 
ances of  our  educational  leaders  and  the  munificent 
gifts  of  our  men  of  wealth  give  us  hope  and  encour- 
agement. It  is  of  the  very  spirit  and  life  of  our 
democracy,  and  it  must  come.  Of  all  the  great  move- 
ments of  the  twentieth  century,  none  will  prove  more 
characteristic  of  democracy  and  more  vital  and  vivify- 
ing than  the  establishment  of  "an  elementary  school 


American  Forest  Cqngress  41 

in  every  home,  of  a  secondary  school  in  every  city, 
township  or  incorporated  village,  and  of  a  university 
in  every  state" — a  university  which  will  be  the  insepa- 
rable adjunct  as  it  is  the  apex  of  the  whole  educational 
system,  where  all  branches  of  human  learning  are 
taught  and  all  professions  and  callings — law  and  medi- 
cine, theology  and  teaching,  commerce,  trade,  and 
industry,  agriculture  and  silviculture — are  made  equal, 
a  federation  of  them  all  being  recognized  as  the  only 
basis  of  educational  solidarity.  Then  there  will  be 
coordination  and  cooperation  instead  of  competition 
and  rivalry.  There  will  be  gathered  the  representa- 
tives of  every  class  and  station,  of  every  calling  and 
profession,  of  every  political  and  religious  creed,  con- 
stituting a  body  politic,  a  vertitable  democracy,  learning 
the  lesson  of  citizenship  as  well  as  of  scholarship; 
lighting  at  this  central  fire  the  Torch  of  Universal 
Truth  and  passing  it  from  teacher  to  pupil,  onward  to 
the  end  of  time. 


IMPORTANCE   OF   THE    FORESTS    TO 
AGRICULTURE 

BY 

HON.  JOHN  LAMB 

Member  of  Congress  from  Virginia 

'X'HE  preservation  of  the  forests  of  America  is  a 
subject  of  vast  importance,  and  one  that  has  been 
too  long  neglected. 

Should  the  deliberations  of  this  Congress  result  in 
calling  the  attention  of  our  landowners,  farmers  and 
mechanics  to  this  impending  national  danger,  beyond 
the  power  of  figures  to  compute,  its  members  and 
delegates  will  richly  deserve  the  gratitude  of  future 
generations. 

Within  the  lives  of  many  of  us  the  question  of  the 
destruction  of  the  forests  did  not  arise.  We  have 
seen  the  log  piles,  and  witnessed  the  destruction  of 
millions  of  feet  of  the  finest  timber  that  ever  grew, 
that  the  land  might  be  cultivated  in  com,  cotton  and 
tobacco.  Some  of  us  have  seen  this  land  turned  out 
to  grow  up  in  scrub  pines  and  oaks,  while  fresh  forests 
were  denuded  of  timber  that  would  have  enriched  the 
next  generation. 

The  unnecessary  destruction  of  the  forests  in  this 
way  has  brought  untold  loss  to  the  Alantic  States, 
from  New  England  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  It  has 
been  estimated  that  in  the  State  of  New  York  alone 
between  1850  and  i860,  more  than  1,500,000  acres  of 
timber  land  were  cleared  for  purposes  of  lumber  and 
agriculture.  During  that  decade  more  than  50,000,000 
acres  in  the  whole  country  were  brought  under  culti- 
vation. 


American  Fore:st  Congress  43 

The  destruction  of  the  forests  during  the  Civil  War 
has  not  and  cannot  be  computed.  This  loss  affected 
the  agricultural  interests  in  every  State  that  w^as  the 
scene  of  operations.  The  destruction  of  large  forests, 
the  gradual  growth  of  hundreds  of  years,  caused  im- 
mense loss.  Both  armies  contributed  to  this.  Costly 
bridges,  dv^ellings,  and  out-houses  v^ere  consumed  by 
fire.  The  relaying  of  railroads  and  rebuilding  of 
bridges  and  dwellings  demanded  a  new  supply,  and 
helped  to  drain  the  country  of  timber  that  was  left. 
Native  Virginians  in  some  sections  refused  to  remain 
where  all  the  timber  had  been  swept  away.  For  the 
same  reason  emigrants  declined  to  come  to  some  of 
the  finest  parts  of  the  State. 

The  menace  to  health  is  greatly  augmented  by  the 
destruction  of  the  forests,  and  the  farmers  of  this 
country  have  suffered  and  are  still  suffering,  to  an 
alarming  extent  from  this  cause.  We  have  no  dry 
statistics  on  this  point,  but  the  experience  of  many, 
and  the  observation  of  all  who  travel,  will  confirm  the 
statement. 

The  counties  of  Culpeper  and  Fauquier,  in  Virginia, 
were  singularly  free  from  malaria  while  their  forests 
stood  comparatively  undisturbed.  After  the  destruc- 
tion of  these,  through  war  and  other  causes,  fevers, 
before  unknown,  became  prevalent. 

The  elderly  physicians  of  Eastern  Virginia  might 
furnish  an  interesting  chapter  to  history  on  this  point ; 
for  it  is  one  that  deeply  concerns  the  welfare  of  the 
farmers  of  the  whole  country,  who  are  suffering  in 
many  ways  from  the  wasteful  destruction  of  the  for- 
ests. It  is  to  be  hoped  that  our  Department  of 
Agriculture  will  investigate  the  health  conditions  that 
prevail  after  the  removal  of  the  forests  from  certain 
localities,  and  request  the  medical  fraternity  to  furnish 
their  valuable  experiences  along  this  line. 


44  Proceedings  oe  the 

It  is  well  known  that  a  house  surrounded  by  forest 
trees  is  nearly  always  healthy.  A  gentleman  who 
occupied  such  a  home  for  ten  or  twelve  years  in  one 
of  the  eastern  counties  of  Virginia  had  no  sickness 
of  consequence  in  his  family  and  did  not  pay  a  phy- 
sician fifty  dollars  during  that  time.  He  afterwards 
purchased  a  large  farm,  surrounded  by  large  tracts  of 
cleared  land  with  few  trees,  and  lost  in  a  few  years 
several  members  of  his  family,  and  contributed  to  the 
doctors  a  goodly  part  of  his  profits. 

The  ceaseless  reproduction  of  the  pine  forests  of 
the  South  Atlantic  States  is  all  that  has  saved  the 
farms  and  farmers  of  that  section  from  destruction. 
For  over  two  hundred  years  there  has  been  a  ceaseless 
war  upon  the  forest.  The  early  settlers  cut  it  down 
and  burned  it  up,  and  their  children,  with  few  excep- 
tions, followed  their  example.  Then  came  the  general 
consumption  for  rails  and  wood ;  the  demand  for 
mechanical  industry ;  the  destruction  for  liquidation 
of  farm  debts;  the  sale  of  cordwood  and  sawed 
lumber  to  northern  markets,  till  every  tree  of  the 
original  growth  in  most  of  the  States  have  been  re- 
moved. The  second  growth  of  old  field  pine  is  now 
receiving  the  same  treatment,  with  smaller  profit  to 
the  seller  and  poorer  results  to  the  consumer.  Could 
the  farmers  of  these  States  be  persuaded  to  adopt  the 
intensive  system  of  fanning,  and  have  their  poorer 
lands  grow  up  in  timber,  they  would  improve  their 
own  condition,  and  hand  down  to  their  children  valu- 
able possessions.  A  gentleman  of  my  acquaintance 
informed  me  that  where  he  planted  corn  when  a  boy, 
he  had  cut  from  the  land,  a  few  years  ago,  cordwood, 
which  he  sold  for  eight  dollars  a  cord  in  New  York 
city. 

Many  thoughtful  persons  have  claimed  that  the  wood 


American  F'orkst  Congress  45 

and  timber  interests  of  some  sections  of  the  South 
have  mihtated  against  agriculture  in  various  ways — 
not  to  mention  the  effect  on  the  waterfall — and  the 
injury  resulting  from  overflows  and  freshets. 

The  disastrous  results  of  the  latter,  caused  by  the 
removal  of  the  forests  along  the  banks  of  the  rivers, 
cannot  be  learned  from  any  statistics.  The  report 
made  to  our  Committee  of  Agriculture  shows  a  dis- 
tressing condition,  and  one  that  appeals  strongly  for 
Federal  and  State  legislation.  Many  valuable  farms 
have  been  impaired  in  value,  and  some  utterly  de- 
stroyed, by  the  sand  and  debris  washed  down  by  the 
overflows.  Cities  and  villages  that  were  not  affected 
years  ago  are  now  often  flooded  with  water,  eight  to 
fifteen  feet  deep.  All  this  shows  the  importance  of 
forests  to  agriculture,  and  appeals  to  the  American 
people  to  spare  the  trees,  and  will  in  time — not  far 
off — compel  the  State  legislatures,  as  well  as  the 
Federal  Government,  to  take  action  in  the  premises. 

We  learn  from  the  experiences  of  other  nations  the 
consequences  of  the  continued  destruction  of  the 
forests.  Palestine,  Egypt,  Italy  and  France  have  seen 
some  of  their  populous  regions  turned  into  a  wilder- 
ness, and  their  fertile  lands  into  deserts.  The  danger 
here  is  greater  than  many  suppose.  Immediate  action, 
both  for  prevention  and  restoration,  is  needed. 

''Bernard  Pallissy,"  the  famous  'Totter  of  the  Tuil- 
leries,"  one  of  the  most  profound  men  ever  produced 
in  Europe,  plead  for  the  wood  in  France  as  follows : 

Having  expressed  his  indignation  at  the  folly  of 
men  in  destroying  the  woods,  his  interlocutor  defends 
the  policy  of  felling  them  by  citing  the  examples  of 
divers  bishops,  cardinals,  priors,  abbotts,  monkeries 
and  chapters,  which  by  cutting  their  woods  have  made 
three  profits ;  the  sale  of  the  timber,  the  rent  of  the 


46  Proce:kdings  0^  TH^ 

ground,  and  the  good  portion  of  the  grain  grown 
by  the  peasants  upon  it.  To  this  argument  PaUissy 
replies :  "1  cannot  enough  detest  this  thing,  and  I  call 
it  not  an  error  hut  a  curse  and  calamity  to  all  Prance; 
for  when  the  forests  shall  be  cut  all  arts  shall  cease,  and 
they  who  practice  them  shall  be  driven  out  to  eat 
grass  with  Nebuchadnezzar  and  the  beasts  of  the  field. 
I  have  divers  times  thought  to  set  down  in  writing  the 
arts  that  shall  perish  when  there  shall  be  no  more 
wood,  but  when  I  had  written  down  a  great  number, 
I  did  perceive  that  there  could  be  no  end  of  my  writing, 
and  having  diligently  considered,  I  found  there  was 
not  any  which  could  be  followed  without  wood.  ^  *  * 
And  truly  I  could  well  allege  to  thee  a  thousand 
reasons,  but  'tis  so  cheap  a  philosophy  that  the  very 
chamber  wenches,  if  they  do  but  think,  may  see  that 
without  wood  it  is  not  possible  to  exercise  any  manner 
of  human  art  or  cunning." 

G.  P.  Marsh,  in  his  valuable  work  "Man  and  Nature," 
page  232,  says:  ''There  are  parts  of  Asia  Minor,  of 
Northern  Africa,  of  Greece,  and  even  of  Alpine 
Europe,  where  the  operations  of  causes  set  in  action 
by  man  has  brought  the  face  of  earth  to  a  desolation 
almost  as  complete  as  that  of  the  moon;  and  though, 
within  that  brief  space  of  time  men  call  the  'historical 
period'  they  are  known  to  have  been  covered  with 
luxuriant  woods,  verdant  pastures  and  fertile  meadows, 
they  are  now  too  far  deteriorated  to  be  reclaimable  by 
man ;  nor  can  they  become  again  fitted  for  human  use 
except  through  great  geological  changes,  or  other 
mysterious  influences  or  agencies  of  which  we  have  no 
present  knowledge,  or  over  which  we  have  no  pros- 
pective control. 

"The  destructive  changes  occasioned  by  the  agency 
of  man  upon  the  flanks  of  the  Alps,  the  Appennines, 


Ame:rican  Forest  Congress  47 

the  Pyrennes,  and  other  mountain  ranges  in  central 
and  southern  Europe,  and  the  progress  of  physical 
deterioration,  have  become  so  rapid  that,  in  some 
localities,  a  single  generation  has  witnessed  the  begin- 
ning and  the  end  of  the  melancholy  revolution. 

"It  is  certain  that  a  desolation  like  that  which  has 
overwhelmed  many  once  beautiful  and  fertile  regions 
of  Europe  awaits  an  important  part  of  the  territory  of 
the  United  States,  unless  prompt  measures  are  taken 
to  check  the  action  of  destructive  causes  already  in 
operation.     *     *     * 

''The  only  legal  provisions  from  which  anything 
can  be  hoped  are  such  as  shall  make  it  a  matter  of 
private  advantage  to  the  landholder  to  spare  the  trees 
upon  his  ground,  and  promote  the  growth  of  young 
wood.  Something  may  be  done  by  exempting  stand- 
ing forests  from  taxation,  and  by  imposing  taxes  on 
wood  felled  for  fuel  or  timber ;  something  by  premiums 
or  honorary  distinctions  for  judicious  management 
of  the  woods.  It  would  be  difficult  to  induce  gov- 
ernments, general  or  local,  to  make  the  necessary 
appropriations  for  such  purposes.  But  there  can  be 
no  doubt  that  it  would  be  sound  economy  in  the  end." 

It  is  claimed  that  about  two  hundred  square  miles 
of  fertile  soil  are  washe^d  into  the  rivers  annually  in 
the  United  States,  while  the  loss  in  crops  and  other 
property  destroyed  by  floods  will  run  up  into  the 
millions. 

The  most  of  this  loss  can  be  traced  to  the  destruction 
of  the  forests  along  the  river  banks. 

Forest-covered  areas  retain  a  large  percentage  of  the 
rainfall,  while  regions  where  there  are  no  forests  allow 
a  much  greater  proportion  of  the  rainfall  to  at  once 
find  its  way  into  the  streams.  It  is  well  known  that 
many  of  our  streams  are  subject  to  more  disastrous 


48  Proceedings  of  the 

floods  and  to  lower  water  stages  in  dry  seasons  than 
was  the  case  before  the  forests  were  cut  off. 

Whether  forests  increase  the  amount  of  precipitation 
or  not — on  this  authorities  are  not  agreed — it  is  very 
certain  from  the  observation  and  experience  of  those 
who  hve  in  the  country  that  local  showers  are  i>:ore 
frequent  in  the  neighborhood  of  dense  forests.  We 
may  well  contend  that  the  forest  helps  to  water  the 
farm;  that  it  protects  from  disastrous  wind  storms, 
both  in  winter  and  summer;  prevents  the  spread  of 
disease,  besides  furnishing  an  inexhaustible  and  self- 
renewing  supply  of  a  material  indispensable  to  the 
successful  exercise  of  every  art  of  peace,  as  well  as 
much  of  the  destructive  energy  of  war. 

So  important  is  this  subject  that  the  farmers  of  this 
country  should  hail  with  delight  the  work  of  this 
Congress,  and  join  hands  with  you  in  the  earnest  effort 
you  are  now  and  will  hereafter  make  to  save  America 
from  the  disaster  that  has  overtaken  many  countries 
in  Europe. 

Experience  has  shown  that  no  legislation  can  secure 
the  permanence  of  the  forests  in  private  hands.  The 
farmers  must  be  educated  along  this  line.  The  earnest 
efforts  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture  must  be 
encouraged,  and  the  means  necessary  for  the  sending 
out  of  literature  must  be  furnished  by  the  Congress. 
Such  Bulletins  as  Nos.  67  and  173,  by  B.  E.  Fernow, 
of  the  Division  of  Forestry,  will  accomplish  a  great 
deal.  The  farmers'  institutes  in  the  states  must  take 
up  the  subject  and  help  to  create  a  public  sentiment 
that  will  change  present  conditions  and  lead  to  tree 
planting  on  many  other  than  Arbor  days. 

Every  word  written,  printed  or  spoken  on  this  sub- 
ject will  bring  a  blessing  and  the  author  will  deserve 
public  thanks.     As  a  subject  of  political  economy  no 


Ame:rican  Forest  Congress  49 

more  important  one  can  be  brought  to  the  attention 
of  the  citizens  of  this  republic. 

As  a  people  we  have  solved  some  vexing  problems. 
Many  others  confront  us  to-day,  and  will  tax  our 
patience,  courage,  and  endurance.  Profiting  by  the 
experience  of  other  countries,  impelled  by  the  imiminent 
dangers  of  the  present  time,  and  encouraged  by  the 
prospect  of  laying  up  for  future  generations  a  supply 
of  material  necessary  to  their  comfort  and  safety,  we 
should  devote  our  energies  to  the  work  of  restoring 
the  American  forests.  We  know  that  growth  is  slow, 
and  restoration  tedious.  We  also  know  that  the  perse- 
verance and  energy  of  the  American  is  equal  to  any 
task  he  assumes. 

We  have  5,674,875  farmers  in  this  country.  Could 
one-third  of  these  be  induced  to  plant  half  an  acre 
each  in  forest  trees  a  year,  we  would,  have  nearly  a 
million  acres  a  year  added  to  the  forests.  In  a  decade 
at  this  rate  we  would  have  gone  very  far  in  solving  a 
problem  of  great  moment,  and  feel  that  we  had  done 
much  towards  offsetting  the  destruction  and  prevent- 
ing the  coming  desolation. 

The  preservation  and  restoration  of  the  American 
forests  will  greatly  add  to  the  comfort  and  beauty  of 
our  homes,  and  tend  to  keep  the  youths  of  the  land  in 
the  rural  districts,  free  from  the  temptations  and  vices 
of  city  life.  The  migration  from  country  to  city  is  an 
alarming  feature  of  our  social  life.  There  are  already 
indications  of  the  returning  tide.  The  preservation  of 
the  forests  and  the  beautifying  of  country  homes  will 
strengthen  the  patriotic  sentiment  in  the  country  and 
intensify  reverence  for  home. 

A  lack  of  reverence  is  a  growing  evil  in  our  land. 
We  observe  it  everywhere.  North,  South,  East,  and 
West.     Students,    philosophers,    and    divines    inveigh 


50  Proceedings  of  the 

against  it,  offering  various  remedies  for  the  evil. 

We  suggest  the  preservation  of  home  and  home  ties, 
the  cultivation  of  reverence  for  Mother  Earth,  and  the 
preservation  of  the  noble  forests. 

It  is  the  earth  alone  of  all  the  elements  around  us 
that  is  never  found  an  enemy  to  man.  The  great  body 
of  waters  oppress  him  with  rain  and  devour  him  with 
inundations.  The  air  rushes  on  in  storms  and  prepares 
the  tempest  or  lights  up  the  volcano;  but  the  earth, 
gentle  and  indulgent,  ever  subservient  to  the  wants  of 
man,  spreads  his  walk  with  flowers  and  his  table  with 
plenty;  returns  with  interest  every  good  intrusted  to 
her  care;  and  though  she  produces  the  poison,  still 
supplies  the  antidote;  though  teased  more  to  supply 
his  luxuries  than  his  necessities,  yet  even  to  the  last 
she  continues  her  kind  indulgence,  and  when  life  is 
over  piously  hides  his  remains  in  her  bosom. 


DEPENDENCE  OF  BUSINESS  INTERESTS 
UPON  THE  FORESTS 

BY 

HOWARD  ELLIOTT 

President,  Northern  Pacific  Railway 

MEN  may,  and  do,  differ  widely  in  their  views  as 
to  the  extent  to  which  Federal  control  and 
supervision  should  be  applied  to  various  forms  of 
business  in  the  United  States,  but  there  can  be  less 
difference  of  opinion  over  the  idea  that  the  preserva- 
tion and  reproduction  of  the  forests  must,  at  present, 
be  undertaken  by  the  Federal  or  State  Governments, 
or  both,  if  the  work  is  to  be  done  at  all.  Possibly  as 
the  subject  becomes  better  understood  private  capital 
can  undertake  this  work  in  some  sections  where  the 
conditions  are  favorable,  but,  at  the  present  time,  it  is 
probably  true  that  forest  reproduction  by  individuals 
will  not  stand  the  test  of  yielding  an  adequate  return 
on  the  investment.  Recognition  of  these  conditions, 
and  the  importance  of  forest  preservation  to  the 
reclamation  of  the  arid  lands  have  resulted  in  the 
adoption  of  a  public  Forest  Reserve  policy  which 
should  receive  support,  suggestion,  and  approval. 
Business  enterprises  that  are  dependent  upon  the  for- 
ests should  recognize  this  condition  and  plan  accord- 
ingly. 

I  feel  that  I  owe  some  apology  for  venturing  to  say 
anything  to  this  meeting,  composed  of  men  who  have 
spent  more  time  than  I  have,  and  who  know  more 
than  I  do  on  the  general  subject  of  forestry,  and  its 
relations  to  the  welfare  of  the  country,  now  and  in  the 


5ia  Proceedings  of  the 

future.     A  very  great  personal  and  business  interest 
in  the  subject  is  my  excuse  for  being  here. 

The  Northern  Pacific  Railway  Company,  of  which 
I  have  the  honor  to  be  the  president,  traverses  states 
in  which  there  are  forest  reserves  as  follows : 

Existing  Proposed  Total 

State.                                  Acres.  Acres.  Acres. 

Minnesota   708,840  798,840 

Montana   7,882,400  4,077,700  11,960,100 

Idaho   3,955,220  3,501,520  7,456,740 

Washington 7,012,960  2,603,480  9,616,440 

Total    18,850,580        10,891,540        29,742,120 

a  total  in  which  the  Northern  Pacific  Railway  Com- 
pany is  interested,  of  nearly  30,000,000  acres. 

Included  in  this  acreage  are  lands  granted  to  the 
Northern  Pacific  Railway  Company,  amounting  to: 

Montana   1,507,130.53 

Idaho  228,208.36 

Washington   1,292,562.93 

Total    3,027,901.82 

These  lands  were  given  by  the  Government  in  1864, 
to  induce  the  building  of  the  road  at  a  time  when  even 
the  wisest  owners  of  capital  hesitated  about  undertak- 
ing an  enterprise  so  large,  and  so  doubtful  as  to  the 
outcome;  and  the  discouragement  and  losses  to  those 
investing  in  this  railroad,  until  within  the  last  few 
years,  are  a  matter  of  common  knowledge. 

During  the  last  five  years,  of  the  freight  handled 
by  the  Northern  Pacific  Railway,  forest  product  ship- 
ments were : 


Ame:rican  Forest  Congress  51b 

Tons. 

For  the  year  ending  June  30,  1900 2,207,526 

For  the  year  ending  June  30,  1901 2,741,708 

For  the  year  ending  June  30,  1902 3,694,694 

For  the  year  ending  June  30,  1903 5,090,387 

For  the  year  ending  June  30,  1904 5,285,077 

The  prosperity  and  future  growth  of  North  Dakota, 
of  Montana,  of  Idaho,  and  of  Washington,  are  depen- 
dent very  largely  upon  the  successful  irrigation  of 
lands  adjacent  to  the  streams  and  rivers  which  find 
their  source  of  supply  in  the  mountains  covered  by 
the  existing  or  proposed  forest  reserves. 

And  the  Northern  Pacific,  in  common  with  all  other 
railroads,  is  vitally  interested  in  the  subject  of  ties  and 
timber  with  which  to  maintain  existing  railroads,  and 
to  build  new  ones. 

So  the  interest  I  represent  is,  and  will  be,  affected 
very  directly  by  the  work  of  the  Government  in  con- 
nection with  the  forests,  and  to-day  an  earnest  effort  is 
being  made  to  arrive  at  some  fair  basis  of  adjustment 
between  the  Government  and  the  Northern  Pacific 
Railway  Company  so  as  to  obtain  the  best  results  in 
the  Forest  Reserves  controlled  by  the  Government,  and 
preserve  to  the  railroad  its  acreage  for  its  use  in  ob- 
taining ties  and  timber  in  the  future. 

Plence,  when  your  gifted  Forester,  Mr.  Giflford 
Pinchot,  and  your  worthy  and  energetic  President, 
the  Honorable  Secretary  of  Agriculture,  asked  me 
to  participate  in  this  meeting,  I  hesitated,  but  finally 
accepted  with  some  reluctance,  feeling  that  I  could 
bring  little  that  was  new  to  the  discussion.  I  accepted 
because  it  seemed  ungracious  to  decline  the  cordial 
invitation,  and  because  I  wished  to  express,  so  far  as 
possible,  by  my  presence  here,  the  interest  that  the 
Northern  Pacific  Railway  Company  takes  in  the  whole 


5IC  Proceedings  of  the 

subject,  and  to  encourage  other  railroads  to  do  like- 
wise ;  to  express,  further,  the  willingness  and  intention 
of  our  company  to  cooperate  on  reasonable  lines  with 
the  Federal  Government  for  better  forest  methods  and 
wood  treatment,  and  to  emphasize  the  importance  to 
many  large  interests  and  to  railroad  business  particu- 
larly, of  being  less  wasteful  and  prodigal  with  the 
wooden  materials  used  in  commercial  enterprises  in 
the  United  States. 

The  first  great  business  directly  dependent  upon  the 
forest  is  that  of  the  lumberman ;  there  is  probably  in- 
vested in  logging  camps,  saw  mills,  planing  mills  and 
other  enterprises  incident  to  producing  forest  products 
in  the  rough,  over  $1,000,000,000.  Upon  this  great 
business,  employing  many  men,  and  paying  out  mil- 
lions annually  in  wages,  depend  in  turn  very  many 
manufacturing  enterprises  scattered  from  one  end  of 
the  United  States  to  the  other ;  depend  the  wood  pulp 
and  paper  business  of  the  country ;  depend  in  part  the 
successful  prosecution  of  many  mining  enterprises. 

The  transportation  business  is  dependent  upon  the 
success  of  these  commercial  enterprises,  and  they  in 
turn  are  dependent  upon  a  safe,  efficient,  prompt,  and 
economical  system  of  transportation. 

Many  of  the  manufacturing  interests  will  be  slack- 
ened, depressed,  and  perhaps  stopped  entirely,  unless 
steps  are  taken  to  use  to  the  best  advantage  the  forests 
we  now  have,  and  to  arrange  to  reproduce  them  for 
use  in  the  future. 

The  railroads  represent  in  round  figures  an  invest- 
ment of  about  $13,000,000,000.  They  collect  and  dis- 
bursement annually  about  $2,000,000,000,  of  which 
$800,000,000  goes  directly  to  labor.  They  carry  in  a 
year  21,000,000,000  passengers  one  mile;  they  trans- 
port in  a  year  180,000,000,000  tons  of  freight  one  mile 


American  Forest  Congress  5 id 

at  an  average  rate  of  three-fourths  of  a  cent  per  ton 
per  mile,  far  lower  than  the  rates  in  any  other  country 
in  the  world;  and  they  do  this  with  wages  far  higher 
than  in  any  other  country  in  the  world,  and  with  a 
general  service  far  better  than  that  given  by  any  other 
nation. 

An  absolutely  essential  part  of  a  modem  railroad  is 
a  safe,  strong,  and  good  track,  and  these  figures  about 
railroads  are  given  simply  to  show  the  magnitude  of 
that  business  in  investment,  in  wages,  in  work  done, 
and  in  the  price  paid  therefor.  Anything  that  tends 
to  make  the  maintenance  and  operaition  of  this  great 
commercial  tool  more  expensive  must  be  offset  either 
by  a  decrease  in  wages,  by  an  increase  in  rates,  by  a 
decrease  in  efficiency,  by  a  decrease  in  returns  to  own- 
ers, or  by  all  combined. 

To  have  good  track  the  railroads  must  have  some 
form  of  support  under  the  rails,  and  the  present  prac- 
tice is  a  wooden  tie.  In  this  item  alone,  based  upon 
the  actual  requirements  for  a  period  of  years  by  one 
large  system,  it  is  estimated  that  the  total  annual  con- 
sumption of  ties,  for  renewals  only,  in  all  of  the  rail- 
roads of  the  United  States,  is  at  least  100,000,000,  to 
which  add  20,000,000  for  additional  tracks  and  yards, 
and  for  the  construction  of  new  railroads,  and  the  total 
is  the  equivalent  in  board  measure  of  more  than  4,000,- 
000,000  feet. 

The  significance  of  these  figures  is  more  apparent 
when  it  is  remembered  that  about  200  ties  is  the  aver- 
age yield  per  acre  of  forest,  varying  very  greatly  in 
different  localities;  so  that  to  supply  this  single  item 
necessitates  the  denudation  annually  of  over  one-half 
million  acres  of  forest.  But  the  cross  tie  supply  is 
only  one  of  the  forest  products  required  by  the  rail- 
roads.    There  are  bridge  timbers,  fence  posts,  tele- 


5ie  Proceedings  of  the 

graph  poles,  building  timber  of  all  kinds,  car  material — 
all  of  which  together,  it  is  estimated,  will  equal  in 
board  measure  the  cross  tie  item,  so  that  it  is  possible 
that  the  railroads  of  the  United  States,  for  all  purposes, 
require,  under  present  practices,  the  entire  product  of 
almost  one  million  acres  of  the  forest  annually. 

So  the  railroad  business,  as  well  as  the  manufactur- 
ing business,  in  a  number  of  directions,  is  interested  in, 
and  very  dependent  upon,  the  preservation  of  the  for- 
ests of  this  country,  and  in  a  wise  handling  of  the 
subject  by  the  Government,  both  National  and  State; 
in  the  continuance  of  the  supply  of  timber  for  use  now 
and  in  the  future;  in  the  revenue  derived  from  the 
transportation  of  forest  products;  in  conserving  the 
water  supply  of  the  country  so  that  the  maximum 
amount  of  arid  land  may  be  irrigated  and  thus  support 
a  producing  and  consuming  population. 

Until  the  time  came  when  the  increase  in  distance 
from  the  point  of  supply  of  timber,  and  the  increase 
in  the  value  of  the  stumpage,  resulted  in  an  increase 
in  the  cost  of  all  items  of  forest  products,  not  much 
attention  was  paid  by  business  interests,  excepting  by 
a  far-seeing  few,  to  the  necessity  for  a  conservative 
policy  about  the  forest  supply.  Happily,  before  too 
late,  there  has  been  an  awakening,  the  credit  for  which 
is  due  to  the  persistent  efforts  of  those  present. 

On  the  part  of  the  railroads,  this  awakening  has 
taken  the  practical  form  of  preservation  of  cross  ties 
and  other  timbers  so  as  to  lengthen  the  life  of  the 
wood ;  to  a  greater  use  of  metal,  stone  and  cement ;  to 
the  wiser  cutting,  handling  and  seasoning  of  ties  and 
timber,  and  to  a  utilization  of  different  kinds  of  wood 
for  ties,  and  what  is  true  with  the  railroad  is  also  true 
with  other  important  business  interests  dependent  upon 
wood  for  their  successful  operation. 


American  Forest  Congress  5 if 

This  is  something  in  which,  as  you  will  all  know, 
this  country  is  somewhat  behind  Europe,  but  I  am 
glad  to  say  nearly  all  the  railroads  in  the  last  few  years 
are  thinking,  and  thinking  very  hard,  on  the  subject, 
because  the  problem  of  how  to  support  their  rails  is 
more  perplexing  each  year. 

If  the  American  railroads  are  to  continue  to  be  the 
efficient  commercial  tool  that  they  now  are ;  to  continue 
the  very  low  average  rates,  and  the  high  scale  of  wages 
now  in  effect,  the  question  of  the  increased  cost  of  ties 
and  timber  is  of  greater  and  greater  importance  to 
those  who  pay  transportation  charges ;  to  wage-earners, 
and  to  railroad  owners. 

The  fact  that  so  many  large  interests  are  so  depen- 
dent upon  the  wise  handling  of  the  forests  remaining 
in  the  country,  will  insure  a  greater  cooperation  in  the 
future  than  there  has  been  in  the  past  between  those 
who  cut  down  and  use  the  forests  for  money-making 
purposes,  and  those  who  are  studying  the  subject  in 
order  to  safeguard  the  interests  of  those  who  come 
after  us. 

This  cooperation  is  very  necessary,  and  the  work  of 
the  National  Government,  the  various  State  Govern- 
ments, the  state  agricultural  colleges,  and  the  forest 
schools  should,  so  far  as  possible,  be  along  the  same 
lines. 

With  such  ooperation  I  have  faith  that  the  ingenuity, 
perseverance  and  ability  of  the  American  man  will 
solve  this  important  question;  and  that,  in  spite  of  a 
somewhat  lavish  use  of  our  forest  resources  in  the 
past,  we  shall  be  able,  by  a  greater  care  in  the  future, 
and  by  a  more  extended  use  of  materials,  other  than 
wood,  preserve  for  ourselves  and  for  those  that  come 
after  us,  the  forests  of  the  country  for  business,  health, 
and  pleasure. 


PART  II 


IMPORTANCE    OF    THE    PUBLIC    FOREST 
LANDS  TO  IRRIGATION 


THE  CLOSE  RELATION  BETWEEN  FOR- 
ESTRY AND  IRRIGATION 

BY 

GUY  ELLIOT  MITCHELL 

Secretary,  the  National  Irrigation  Association 

nr*  HE  connection  between  a  comprehensive  system 
of  forestry  and  irrigation  is  a  somewhat  local 
though  vital  one,  directly  affecting  as  it  does  but  one- 
half  of  the  territory  of  the  United  States — the  arid 
region.  Forestry  itself,  as  affecting  water  supply,  is 
a  broad  national  question,  as  well  as  a  local  one  in  each 
state  and  drainage  basin.  The  forest  movement,  there- 
fore, has  a  country-wide  interest,  and  whereas  Cali- 
fornia is  alarmed  over  the  destruction  of  its  mountain 
forests  and  the  drying  up  of  its  streams  which  form 
the  life-blood  of  its  communities,  Pennsylvania  and 
New  England  are  only  to  a  less  extent  exercised  over 
the  threatened  danger  to  their  water  sources,  necessary 
for  city  and  town  supplies  and  for  power  development. 

In  the  Western  half  of  the  United  States  the  destruc- 
tion of  forests  has  an  intimate,  immediate  bearing 
upon  the  capacity  of  the  States  to  sustain  population, 
for  population  results  from  irrigation ;  irrigation  de- 
pends upon  water  supply  and  the  water  supply  is  the 
melting  snows  caught  and  held  by  the  forests  clothing 
the  great  mountain  chains  of  the  Sierras  and  the 
Rockies — nature's    great    storage    reservoirs. 

Three  things  are  necessary  to  insure  a  maximum 
water  supply  for  irrigation : 

First,  prevent  wholesale  destruction  of  timbered 
watersheds. 


54  -  Proceedings  of  the 

Second,  substitute  therefor  a  rational  system  of 
timber  cutting;  and, 

Third,  reforest  and  afiforest  lands  where  the  value 
of  the  increased  water  supply  will  warrant  this  most 
advanced  and  expensive  feature  of  the  American  forest 
plan. 

The  first  of  these  should  receive  immediate  consid- 
eration; the  present  tremendous  waste  should  be 
checked  and  the  second  part  of  the  plan  promptly 
adopted  before  it  is  too  late,  and  the  third  and  most 
expensive  part  becomes  the  only  remedy. 

So  far  as  the  Government  timber  lands  are  con- 
cerned, aggregating  many  millions  of  acres  outside 
of  the  national  forest  reserves,  for  every  thousand 
dollars  now  expended  in  carrying  out  the  first  two 
provisions  of  the  plan — where  all  that  is  required  is 
to  properly  direct  timber  cutting  to  husband  the  re- 
sources of  nature,  new  growth — it  is  probably  a  con- 
servative estimate  to  make  that  a  million  dollars,  and 
much  time  will  be  required  to  attain  the  same  results 
through  forest  planting. 

This  latter  creative  plan  while  less  pressing  and 
vital  than  the  need  of  conserving  what  we  already 
have,  holds  out  wonderful  eventual  possibilities.  The 
statement  of  Mr.  Gifford  Pinchot,  Forester,  United 
States  Department  of  Agriculture,  at  the  Twelfth  Na- 
tional Irrigation  Congress,  at  El  Paso,  Texas,  Novem- 
ber, 1904,  that  experiments  and  the  observations  of 
years  have  proven  that  enormous  areas  of  the  West 
can,  by  systematic  planting,  be  made  into  forests  with 
the  effect  of  restoring  streams  which  have  disappeared, 
possibly  thousands  of  years  ago,  and  of  creating  en- 
tirely new  streams,  holds  out  startling  and  almost 
unrealizable  probabilities  for  future  agricultural  devel- 
opment to  the  forest  and  water  student. 


Am]e:rican  Forest  Congress  55 

What  is  needed  to-day,  immediately,  is  vastly  more 
strength  to  the  arm  of  American  forestry  for  the 
vigorous  prosecution  of  its  well  matured  plans  to 
save  what  we  now  possess.  The  two  greatest  problems 
before  this  country  to-day,  well  worthy  the  expenditure 
by  the  nation  of  millions  and  hundreds  of  millions  of 
dollars  instead  of  thousands  and  hundreds  of  thou- 
sands, are  forestry  and  irrigation.  They  will  return  such 
expenditure,  principal  and  interest,  many  times  over, 
and  the  carrying  out  of  such  a  policy  will  demonstrate 
its  wisdom  within  the  present  generation.  It  is  a 
question  demanding  our  immediate  consideration,  and 
is  not,  as  many  patriotic  citizens  seem  to  believe,  a 
remote  problem  w^hich  must  be  solved  in  the  distant 
future.  I  make  no  careless,  ill-considered  statement 
when  I  assert  that  these  two  correlated  subjects  form 
the  most  important  question  before  the  United  States 
to-day  and  through  whose  wise  solution  the  country 
has  more  to  gain  than  from  any  other  resource,  within 
her  borders  or  over  seas.  For  can  anything  be  of 
greater  import  than  the  creation  of  an  empire  within 
our  midst  which  will  support  a  population  as  great 
as  that  of  the  entire  country  to-day? 

The  work  of  the  Bureau  of  Forestry  of  the  Depart- 
ment of  Agriculture  has  come,  within  the  past  two 
years,  to  be  recognized  as  a  practical,  hard-headed 
business  proposition.  When  the  present  Forester,  Mr. 
Gifford  Pinchot,  took  up  this  work  he  gave  lumbermen 
credit  for  shrewdness  and  ability;  he  did  not  claim  to 
know  more  than  they  about  lumbering;  but  he  did 
contend  that  lumbering  could  be  carried  on  profitably 
without  forest  destruction.  Later,  when  criticised  for 
his  enthusiasm  in  the  setting  apart  of  forest  reserves 
and  his  supposed  substitution  of  practical  lumbering 
for  the  aesthetic  considerations,  he  made  the  notable 
response ; 


56  Procekdings  of  the 

"I  am  not  a  preserver  of  trees.  I  am  a  cutter-down 
of  trees.  It  is  the  essence  of  forestry  to  have  trees 
harvested  when  they  are  ripe,  and  followed  by  successive 
crops.  The  human  race  is  not  destroyed  because  the 
individual  dies.  Every  individual  must  die,  but  the 
race  lives  on.  So  every  tree  must  die,  but  the  forest 
will  be  extended  and  multiplied.  Yet  it  by  no  means 
follows  that  the  face  of  the  land  shall  be  denuded,  so 
that  the  character  of  the  watersheds  shall  be  altered, 
with  the  resulting  injury  to  streams  and  to  agricultural 
lands  depending  upon  them." 

The  United  States  is  quite  fortunate  in  the  posses- 
sion of  Giflford  Pinchot  as  Government  Forester;  the 
President  is  fortunate  in  having  a  man  to  carry  out 
this  advanced  forest  policy,  a  man  who  is  striving 
solely  to  conserve  one  of  the  greatest  of  America's 
natural  resources,  thus  erecting  to  himself  and  his 
period  a  monument  which  will  endure  for  all  ages. 

President  Roosevelt  has  uttered  some  notable  truths 
as  to  the  relation  of  forest  preservation  to  agriculture 
and  home  building.  Speaking  at  Leland  Stanford 
University  last  year,  he  said :  ''In  many  parts  of 
California  the  whole  future  welfare  of  the  State  de- 
pends upon  the  way  in  which  you  are  able  to  use  your 
water  supply;  and  the  preservation  of  the  forests  and 
the  preservation  of  the  use  of  the  water  are  insepara- 
bly connected.  Whatever  tends  to  destroy  the  water 
supply  of  the  Sacramento,  the  San  Gabriel,  and  the 
other  valleys  strikes  vitally  at  the  welfare  of  California. 
The  forest  cover  upon  the  drainage  basins  of  streams 
used  for  irrigation  purposes  is  of  prime  importance 
to  the  interests  of  the  entire  State."  And,  again: 
"Now  keep  in  mind  that  the  whole  object  of  forest  pro- 
tection is,  as  I  have  said  again  and  again,  the  making 
and  maintaining  of  prosperous  homes.     Every  phase 


Amkrican  Forest  Congress  57 

of  the  land  policy  of  the  United  States  is,  as  it  by  right 
ought  to  be,  directed  to  the  upbuilding  of  the  home- 
maker.  The  one  sure  test  of  all  public  land  legislation 
should  be :  Does  it  help  to  make  and  keep  prosperous 
homes?  If  it  does,  the  legislation  is  good.  If  it  does 
not,  the  legislation  is  bad. 

"Certain  of  our  land  laws,  however  beneficent  their 
purposes,  have  been  twisted  into  an  improper  use,  so 
that  there  have  grown  up  abuses  under  them  by  which 
they  tend  to  create  a  class  of  men  who,  under  one  color 
and  another,  obtain  large  tracts  of  soil  for  speculative 
purposes,  or  to  rent  out  to  others." 

Two  bills  are  pending  in  Congress  to-day,  the  pas- 
sage of  which  will  prove  a  distinct  gain  to  American 
forestry.  They  are  little  understood,  probably,  by 
the  American  people  as  a  whole,  yet  it  is  doubtful  if 
there  are  any  pending  before  Congress  fraught  with 
greater  import  to  the  nation.  One  has  passed  the 
House  and  the  other  one  has  passed  the  Senate.  The 
former  bill  consolidates  the  entire  government  forest 
work,  now  badly  divided  and  cut  up  among  different 
bureaus  and  divisions,  into  one  bureau  under  the  De- 
partment of  Agriculture.*  It  has  the  unanimous  sup- 
port and  approval  of  various  officials,  the  heads  of 
departments  and  the  Executive.  It  should  promptly 
become  a  law  and  the  country  should  then  stand  by 
its  Bureau  of  Forestry  with  such  support  as  is  neces- 
sary to  carry  out  its  forestry  plans  in  the  broadest  and 
most  comprehensive  manner,  for  by  doing  so  it  will 
conserve  greatly  its  own  wealth. 

The  other  measure  has  likewise  the  unqualified  sup- 
port of  the  President,  all  forest  officials  and  heads  of 
departments.     It  passed  the  Senate  without  a  dissent- 

*This  bill  has  since  passed  Congress  and  was  signed  by 
President  Roosevelt,  February  i,  1905, 


58  Proce:i:dings  of  the: 

ing  vote.  It  provides  for  the  substitution  of  the  timber 
and  stone  law  with  a  plan  to  allow  the  general  govern- 
ment to  retain  title  to  all  its  timber  lands,  but  to  sell 
the  timber  thereon  under  such  regulations  as  will  insure 
the  perpetual  reforestation  of  these  lands,  their  timber 
cropping,  and  the  preservation  of  their  water  supplies. 

Under  the  present  law  timber  land  of  great  value  is 
disposed  of  by  the  Government  at  $2.50  an  acre,  is 
carelessly  and  wastefuUy  lumbered  so  that  entire  water- 
sheds are  denuded  of  their  forest  cover,  destructive 
fires  are  allowed  to  sweep  over  them  leaving  them 
bare  and  unable  to  retain  the  moisture  upon  which 
irrigated  communities  depend.  This  law  was  passed 
to  enable  settlers  to  purchase  small  tracts  of  timber 
land,  presumably  adjacent  to  their  homsteads.  Its 
provisions  have  been  evaded,  as  the  President  inti- 
mates, to  such  an  extent  that  enormous  tracts  of  land 
have  passed  into  speculative  ownership  without  result- 
ing good  to  the  communities ;  in  fact,  with  the  utmost 
danger  to  their  prosperity  and  well  being.  This 
measure  should  likewise  receive  the  prompt  considera- 
tion of  that  branch  of  Congress  before  which  it  is 
pending. 

There  is  yet  another  law  which  stands  as  a  great 
menace  to  forest  preservation.  It  is  the  forest  reserve 
lieu  land  law,  known  as  lieu  land  or  scrip  law.  It 
allows  the  owner  of  land  within  the  forest  reserves  to 
exchange  that  land  for  other  unreserved  public  land 
of  the  reserves.  Under  it  vast  areas  of  almost  worth- 
less land,  in  many  cases  previously  denuded  of  its  tim- 
ber by  its  owners,  have  been  exchanged  for  the  finest 
timber  lands  in  the  Northwest.  This  law  should  be 
repealed,  and  where  private  individuals  or  corporations 
own  land  within  the  forest  reserves  which  they  do  not 
desire,  it  should  be  appraised  by  the  Government  and 


Ame:rican  Forest  Congress  59 

the  cash  vahie  paid  to  the  owner  of  one  or  two  dollars 
an  acre,  or  whatever  it  may  be  worth,  rather  than  that 
he  should  be  allowed  to  exchange  it  for  equal  areas  of 
our  finest  timber  lands  worth  $20,  $50,  and  possibly 
$100  an  acre.  The  particularly  evil  feature  of  this  law 
is  that  lieu  land  right  is  a  floating,  purchasable  com- 
modity, and  has  resulted  in  the  acquirement  of  immense 
tracts  under  single  ownership.''' 

With  these  three  measures  acted  upon  by  Congress 
the  nation  will  emerge  from  the  present  area  of  lumber 
waste  and  timber  land  speculation  into  one  of  forest 
conservation,  husbandry,  and  thrift  which  will  result 
in  both  timber  supplies  and  water  resources  for  the 
coming  generations,  where  the  present  outlook  indi- 
cates timber  famine  and  vast  loss  to  irrigation. 

*The  lieu  land  law  was  repealed  by  Congress  in  March  of 
this  year. 


FORESTS  AND  RESERVOIRS 

BY 
F.  H.  NEWELL 

Chief  Engineer,  United  States  Reclamation  Service 

A  LL  are  aware  that  the  Government,  through  the 
"^  operation  of  the  Reclamation  Act  of  June  17, 
1902,  is  building  large  irrigation  works  throughout 
the  West.  The  fund  for  that  purpose  now  amounts 
to  about  $25,000,000.  These  works,  national  in  char- 
acter, are  being  constructed  as  rapidly  as  possible.  The 
protection  of  these  works,  their  future  use,  their  sta- 
bility through  all  time,  is  largely  dependent  upon  the 
proper  treatment  of  the  forests  upon  the  mountains 
above  the  reservoirs.  In  fact  there  is  hardly  a  project 
now  under  consideration  whose  future  success  is  not 
closely  joined  with  the  questions  of  the  best  use  and 
preservation  of  the  forests  and  to  a  less  degree  of  the 
grazing  land  immediately  adjacent.  These  works  are 
being  built  to  last  for  all  time,  and  if  they  are  to  be 
preserved  in  their  best  condition,  it  must  be  after  we 
have  solved  this  question  of  the  best  protection  and  use 
of  the  forest. 

A  number  of  the  delegates  present  have  come  from 
the  far  West.  Many  others  are  deeply  interested  in 
Western  development,  not  only  from  general  con- 
siderations, but  because  the  creation  of  a  home  in  the 
West  means  the  creation  of  a  home  in  the  manufac- 
turing districts  of  the  East,  and  possibly  the  creation 
of  a  home  for  a  man  who  is  employed  by  the  trans- 
porting interests.  The  transportation  men,  so  well 
represented  at  this  Congress,  have  an  immediate  and 
vital  concern  in  this  whole  subject  of  conservation  of 


Ame:rican  Forest  Congress  6i 

water  and,  growing  out  of  that,  the  conservation  of 
the  forests. 

It  is  desirable  to  review  briefly  something  of  what  is 
going  on  in  the  Western  States  and  Territories.  Take 
Arizona,  for  instance :  Here  the  Reclamation  Service 
is  building  a  storage  dam  at  Roosevelt,  costing  probably 
$3,000,000.  When  built  it  will  enable  the  creation  of 
homes  for  many  thousands  of  people,  and  render  pro- 
ductive a  large  area  now  desert.  In  California  is  the 
Yuma  project,  which  it  is  expected  will  be  begun  soon ; 
and  also  another  project  in  the  northern  part  of  the 
State,  around  the  Klamath  lakes.  For  the  protection  of 
an  Arizona  reservoir  a  forest  reserve  must  be  had  above 
the  reservoir  in  order  to  prevent,  as  far  as  possible,  the 
washing  of  soil  which  follows  upon  the  destruction  of 
tree  growth.  In  Colorado  is  the  Gunnison  tunnel,  the 
contract  for  which  is  being  let  now — a  tunnel  30,000 
feet  in  length,  to  take  water  from  the  Gunnison  River 
into  the  Uncompahgre  Valley,  a  broad,  fertile,  but  arid 
plain.  The  head  waters  of  that  river  must  be  pro- 
tected in  part  by  the  forests  as  well  as  by  reservoirs. 

In  Idaho,  the  same  is  true ;  there  on  the  Snake  River 
a  dam  is  being  built  across  the  stream.  Its  utility  for 
all  time  depends  largely  upon  the  good  treatment  ac- 
corded to  the  head  waters  of  that  stream.  This  matter 
of  the  development  of  the  West  is  not  a  State  question, 
but  is  interstate.  We  must  build  reservoirs  in  Wyo- 
ming ;  we  must  conserve  forests  in  Wyoming  to  benefit 
the  arid  plains  of  Idaho.  For  Western  Kansas,  Mr. 
Reeder  has  already  spoken  briefly  of  the  great  interest 
in  irrigation,  and  although  having  no  forests,  yet  the 
rivers  that  come  into  Kansas,  as  the  Arkansas,  depend 
partly  for  their  continuity  of  flow  on  proper  treatment 
of  the  woodlands  on  the  mountains  in  the  central  part 
of  Colorado. 


62  Proceedings  o^  the 

111  Montana  are  similar  conditions.  The  Yellow- 
stone River,  rising  in  Wyoming,  derives  a  large  water 
supply  from  wooded  areas  which  must  be  protected  in 
order  that  the  flow  of  that  stream  may  be  properly 
safeguarded.  In  Nebraska,  the  conditions  are  similar 
to  those  in  Western  Kansas.  The  North  and  South 
Platte  Rivers  coming  into  that  State,  are  dependent 
for  their  waters,  in  part  at  least,  upon  the  flow  from 
the  high  mountains  of  Central  Colorado  and  Southern 
Wyoming.  In  Nevada  is  under  construction  one  of 
the  largest  irrigation  works  in  the  world,  taking  water 
from  Truckee  River  over  into  the  Carson.  The  in- 
tegrity of  that  great  system,  which  will  cost  at  least 
$3,000,000  and  possibly  $5,000,000  when  it  is  com- 
pleted, will  depend  largely  on  the  conservation  of  the 
forest  growth  in  the  State  of  California ;  there  again 
is  the  same  question  of  protection  of  forests  in  one 
State  to  secure  the  prosperity  of  the  homes  in  another. 
In  New  Mexico  is  being  built  on  Hondo  River,  a  tribu- 
tary of  Pecos  River,  a  reservoir  which  receives  its 
waters  from  forest  reserves  in  central  New  Mexico. 
There  is  in  contemplation  a  great  work  on  the  Rio 
Grande,  interstate  and  international  in  character;  that 
river  in  turn  must  be  reservoired  and  every  drop  of 
water  held.  Here  again  comes  the  question,  how  are 
tlie  head  waters  of  that  river  in  Colorado  to  be  best 
protected  for  the  waters  which  are  to  be  used  in  Colo- 
rado, New  Mexico,  Texas,  and  Old  Mexico? 

North  Dakota  is  far  out  on  the  plains  and  there  are 
few  forests  in  the  State.  The  great  river  of  the  State 
is  the  Missouri,  rising  in  Montana.  This  stream  de- 
pends largely  for  its  flow  on  the  waters  from  forests  at 
its  head.  South  Dakota  has  a  mountain  region  of  its 
own  and  a  forest  reserve  in  the  Black  Hills. 
Coming  from  the  Black  Hills  are  streams,  not  very 


American  Fordst  Congress'  63 

large  but  of  very  great  importance  in  the  development 
of  that  State.  On  the  Belle  Fourche  River  there  is 
being  planned  a  large  irrigation  system  irrigating  vast 
tracts  of  land  north  of  the  Black  Hills,  lands  which 
will  form  homes  for  thousands  of  families.  Again 
we  have  the  same  old  story  that  we  must  go  back  to 
the  forest  reserves  to  see  that  the  head  waters  are  pro- 
tected. ^ 

In  Oregon  we  know  of  the  wonderful  extent  of  the 
forest  reserves  and  of  the  value  of  the  timber,  but 
even  in  that  State  we  are  asking  for  better  and  larger 
attention  to  the  forest  reserves,  especially  in  the  Blue 
Mountain  region  and  particularly  on  the  head  waters 
of  the  Malheur,  Umatilla,  and  other  streams  where 
development  to  a  high  degree  will  be  possible.  Okla- 
homa, out  on  the  plains,  has,  it  is  true,  but  little  forested 
area,  but  even  there,  are  questions  of  water  storage  and 
of  the  best  protection  of  a  little  reserve  in  the  Wichita 
Mountains.  In  Utah  the  same  is  true.  There  we  are 
studying  Utah  Lake  and  the  best  use  of  waters  which 
flow  through  it  and  out  into  the  Jordan;  also  the  best 
use  of  Bear  Lake.  Here  we  come  back  again  to  the 
question,  What  is  Mr.  Pinchot  going  to  do  with  the 
forest  reserves?  Mr.  Pinchot  and  the  engineers  of 
the  Reclamation  Service  are  working  hand  in  hand  on 
all  the  large  projects  which  look  to'home-making  and 
upbuilding  of  the  country. 

In  W^ashington  the  same  condition  exists.  The 
Palouse  project,  in  that  State,  is  for  storage  of  water 
at  the  head  of  the  Palouse  River  and  for  taking  it  out 
to  reclaim  a  sandy  desert  above  Pasco.  This  will  be 
made  one  of  the  most  productive  sections  in  the  United 
States.  Last,  but  not  least,  we  come  to  Wyoming,  the 
central,  the  pivotal  State  of  the  arid  region ;  a  State  of 
great  elevation.    There  we  must  have  forest  reserves  to 


64  Proceedings  oi^  the 

protect  the  head  waters  of  the  Missouri  and  Yellow- 
stone, the  head  waters  of  the  Platte  and  all  of  the  innu- 
merable streams  which  flow,  not  only  to  the  East,  but 
also  into  the  Snake  and  into  the  Green  Rivers  to  the 
South. 

In  each  of  these  States  is  a  great  irrigation  project 
under  construction  or  under  consideration.  In  Wyo- 
ming is  a  large  reservoir  on  the  North  Platte  River — 
the  Pathfinder.  The  contract  for  the  outlet  tunnel  will 
be  let  in  a  few  days.  And  in  the  northern  part  of  Wyo- 
ming is  a  project  on  the  Shoshone  River  with  the 
object  of  reclaiming  vast  tracts  of  arid  land. 

I  have  cited  these  cases  to  illustrate  the  fact  that 
forest  protection  has  an  important  practical  and  defi- 
nite value,  not  only  to  the  people  of  the  West,  but  to 
the  people  of  the  whole  country  in  the  upbuilding  and 
making  of  homes  and  the  creation  of  a  large  population 
which  will  support  itself  from  the  soil.  And  which  will 
be  drawing  upon  the  East  for  its  manufactures  and 
drawing  upon  all  the  transportation  interests  to  carry 
these  manufactures  backward  and  forward. 

Those  of  you  who  are  interested  in  the  details  of  this 
great  work  of  reclamation  are  cordially  invited  to  go 
into  the  details  with  the  engineers  of  the  Reclamation 
Service  who  represent  the  different  States  and  who  are 
now  holding  a  conference  to  consider  some  of  the 
larger  problems  of  construction  and  of  management. 
These  works  are  not  built  as  are  those  constructed 
under  such  appropriations  as  that  provided  for  in  the 
River  and  Harbor  Bill.  They  must  be  built,  on  the 
contrary,  with  the  idea  of  repaying  to  the  government 
the  cost  of  construction.  This  involves  a  financial 
problem — that  of  getting  back  into  the  reclamation 
fund  the  amount  which  each  project  has  cost.  If  it 
has  cost  $3,000,000  dollars  and  will  reclaim   100,000 


American  Forest  Congress  65 

acres  of  land,  then  each  acre  of  land  must  be  assessed 
thirty  dollars,  and  that  thirty  dollars  must  be  paid  back 
in  ten  annual  installments  of  three  dollars  each.  Mean- 
while the  fund  is  increasing,  but  every  dollar  of  it  must 
be  guarded  and  the  engineers  in  charge  of  the  work 
must  be  business  men  and  financial  men  as  well,  and 
see  that  the  expenditures  they  make  are  such  that  the 
money  will  get  back  without  undue  hardship  to  the 
people  who  will  obtain  that  land  and  cultivate  it. 

These  great  works  belong  to  the  National  Govern- 
ment, but  when  the  distribution  system  is  paid  for  in 
the  ten  annual  installments,  it  will  be  turned  over  to 
the  people  who  own  the  land  and  cultivate  it  and  will 
be  operated  by  them  very  much  as  a  school  district  is 
operated,  or  any  other  public  corporation  or  munici- 
pality. During  the  time  of  construction  and  operation 
of  these  works  up  to  the  period  when  they  are  paid  for, 
the  engineers  who  have  built  them  will  see  that  they  are 
operated  properly  and  will  gradually  pass  the  control 
over  to  the  communities  until  ultimately  the  community 
will  assume  full  control.  By  that  time  the  future 
owners  will  be  educated  to  a  true  appreciation  of  the 
great  works  and  to  a  realization  of  what  it  means  to 
them  to  conserve  the  forests  of  the  head  waters. 

The  organization  which  is  carrying  on  that  work 
known  as  the  Reclamation  Service,  has  been  created 
under  the  Geological  Survey  in  order  to  take  advantage 
of  the  good  precedents  and  business-like  ability  of  that 
organization.  All  of  us  appreciate  the  enormous  bene- 
fit it  is  to  have,  the  protection  of  the  older  organization 
which  has  been  in  existence  a  quarter  of  a  century  and 
which  has  been  conducted  without  favoritism  and  with- 
out reference  to  politics. 

Building  up  on  that  foundation  and  having  the  pro- 
tection of  good  precedents  and  good  methods,  we  are 


66  Procee:dings  oi^  thk 

endeavoring  to  develop  a  strong  organization.  We  ask 
you  who  are  interested  in  forestry  and  in  all  its  prac- 
tical developments  and  ramifications,  to  stand  with  us 
and  give  us  your  assistance  to  keep  and  protect  this 
young  organization  along  the  lines  of  good,  hard  busi- 
ness sense.  Not  only  for  the  sake  of  the  development 
of  the  country,  not  only  for  the  sake  of  the  reclamation 
of  the  West,  but  for  the  good  example  and  encourage- 
ment it  affords  to  other  organizations  of  the  Govern- 
ment, such  as  the  Forest  Service,  to  pursue  the  same 
lines  in  carrying  on  the  work  on  a  thoroughly  sound 
financial  basis,  of  getting  back  what  the  service  costs 
and  not  making  it  a  burden  upon  the  country. 

It  is  of  the  highest  importance  to  demonstrate  to  the 
public  and  to  Congress,  the  fact  that  public  business 
can  be  transacted  on  business  lines.  There  are  many 
good  men  who  scoff  at  the  idea  that  the  public  service 
can  be  conducted  on  a  sound  basis  of  that  kind,  but  I 
believe  it  is  possible  for  the  Forestry  and  for  the 
Reclamation  Services  to  be  carried  on  as  a  business 
proposition  and  pay  for  themselves  and  not  call  upon 
the  Federal  Treasury  for  a  cent.  And  to  upbuild  and 
utilize  all  the  resources,  if  you  business  men,  who  are 
citizens  who  are  interested  in  good  government,  will 
stand  with  us  and  insist  that  these  sound  principles  be 
carried  out. 


RELATION  OF   FOREST  COVER  TO 
STREAM  FLOW 

BY 

J.  B.  LIPPINCOTT 

Supervising  Engineer,  United  States  Reclamation  Service 

TTHE  relation  of  rainfall  to  run-off  is  very  uncertain, 
depending  upon  the  nature  of  the  storms,  whether 
gentle  showers  or  violent  rains;  the  steepness  of  the 
drainage  basin  and  its  covering,  and  whether  the  pre- 
cipitation is  snow  or  rain.  It  has  been  found  that  in 
the  districts  where  the  forest  cover  is  small  the  output 
of  the  basin  occurs  in  violent  floods  of  short  duration. 
Because  these  floods  are  violent,  and  of  large  volume, 
and  owing  to  the  fact  that  the  soil  of  the  drainage 
basins  is  not  hold  together  by  a  network  of  roots,  ex- 
tensive erosions  occur  in  these  barren  basins  and  the 
stream  carries  much  silt  in  suspension.  Where  the 
basin  is  covered  by  forest,  the  mat  of  twigs  and  leaves 
which  covers  the  ground  is  an  absorbent  sponge, 
retaining  in  itself  large  quantities  of  water  and  pre- 
venting evaporation  from  the  underlying  soil.  This 
permits  of  a  holding  back  of  the  floods  and  the  gradual 
draining  off  of  the  water,  thus  largely  accomplishing 
the  purpose  of  regulating  reservoirs. 

A  striking  example  of  the  output  of  a  barren,  tree- 
less, drainage  basin  is  shown  in  the  case  of  Queen 
Creek,  Arizona,  for  the  year  1896.  This  stream  dis- 
charges only  in  violent  freshets,  recurring  usually  as 
great  flood-waves,  subsiding  almost  as  rapidly  as  they 
arise.  By  making  from  two  to  three  current-meter 
measurements  of  each  of  these  freshets,  and  keeping 


68  Proceedings  of  the 

an  hourly  record  of  the  gauge-height,  the  discharge 
was  approximated.  The  floods  are  usually  not  to  ex- 
ceed twelve  hours  in  duration.  During  a  larger  por- 
tion of  the  year  the  channel  is  nearly  dry.  Queen 
Creek  rises  in  the  mountains  to  the  southeast  of 
Phoenix,  and  flows  in  a  generally  southwesterly  direc- 
tion, losing  itself  in  the  desert  north  of  the  Gila  River 
Reservation.  The  area  of  the  drainage  basin  is  143 
square  miles,  of  which  61  per  cent,  is  above  an  elevation 
of  3,000  feet,  and  39  per  cent  below  that  elevation. 
The  annual  discharge  is  approximately  10,000  acre 
feet.  The  basin  is  almost  entirely  bare,  there  being  a 
few  pinion  trees  and  very  little  brush  or  grass.  The 
following  table  of  discharge  for  the  year  1896  for 
Queen  Creek  is  taken  from  the  Eighteenth  Annual 
Report  of  the  Geological  Survey,  Part  IV,  Hydrog- 
raphy.    It  represents  a  typical  year's  output : 

Estimated  Monthly  Discharge  of  Queen  Creek  at  Whit- 
low's, Arizona.     Drainage  Area,  143  Square  Miles. 

Discharge   in   Second   feet. 

Month,   1896.  Max.  Min.  Mean. 

January 2  2.0  2.0 

February 2  2.0  2.0 

March 2  2.0  2.0 

April 2  i.o  1.5 

May I  1.0  1.0 

June I  1.0  1.0 

July 9,000  0.0  121.6 

August 1,433  0.6  13.1 

September 3428  0.5  17.  i 

October 1,188  0.5  13.3 

November 80  0.6  1.3 

December 207  0.6  2.0 

9,000  .0  15. 


American  Forest  Congress  69 

In  contrast  with  the  Gila  River  and  Queen  Creek  in 
Arizona,  is  the  discharge  of  Cedar  Creek  Washington, 
for  the  year  1897.  The  point  of  measurement  of  this 
stream  is  at  CHfford's  Bridge,  in  Section  19,  Township 
22  North,  Range  7  East,  Willamette  Meridian.  The 
drainage  area  is  estimated  to  be  143  square  miles,  and 
it,  therefore,  is  the  same  as  the  area  of  the  basin  of 
Queen  Creek.  The  basin  of  Cedar  Creek  lies  on  the 
western  slope  of  the  Cascade  Mountains.  It  is  heavily 
timbered  and,  in  addition,  the  ground  is  covered  with 
a  very  heavy  growth  of  ferns  and  moss.  The  precipi- 
tation for  the  year  1897  was  about  93  inches  in  the 
lower  portion  of  the  basin,  and  is  estimated  to  have 
been  as  great  as  150  inches  on  the  mountain  summits. 
The  rainfall  of  the  Queen  Creek  basin  is  estimated  to 
be  about  15  inches.  The  maximum  flood  discharge 
in  1896  on  Queen  Creek  was  9,000  cubic  feet  per 
second,  and  the  maximum  flood  discharge  on  Cedar 
Creek  in  1897  was  3,601  cubic  feet  per  second.  The 
mean  discharge  for  Queen  Creek  was  15  cubic  feet 
per  second,  and  for  Cedar  Creek  1,089  cubic  feet  per 
second.  While  Queen  Creek  is  frequently  dry,  the 
minimum  discharge  of  Cedar  Creek  during  the  period 
in  question  was  never  less  than  27  per  cent  of  the 
mean  for  the  year.  These  two  streams  represent 
extreme  types.  The  radical  difiference  in  their  char- 
acter is  believed  to  be  largely  due  to  the  difference  in 
forest  cover.  The  discharge  of  Cedar  Creek  for  the 
year  1897  is  believed  to  be  fairly  representative.  The 
following  table  of  discharge  is  taken  from  the  Nine- 
teenth Annual  Report  of  the  Geological  Survey,  Part 
IV,  Hydrography. 

It  will  be  noted  that  the  vertical  scale  showing  the 
discharge  is  twice  as  large  on  the  Cedar  Creek  diagram 
as  on  that  of  Queen  Creek.  If  they  were  on  the  same 
scale  the  contrast  would  be  greater : 


70 


Proceedings  of  the 


Estimated  Monthly  Discharge  oe  Cedar  River  Near  SeaTt 
TLE,  Washington.     Drainage  Area,  143  Square  Miles. 


Discharge   in   Second   feet. 


Month,  1897.  Max. 

January 2,812 

February 2,415 

March 1,366 

April 2,752 

May 2,143 

June 1,410 

July 2,284 

August 561 

September 418 

October 433 

November 3,i55 

December 3,6oi 

Total 3,601 


Min. 

Mean. 

815 

1,430 

823 

1,303 

723 

901 

790 

1,599 

939 

1,562 

780 

1,060 

572 

1,135 

342 

427 

311 

350 

294 

339 

32Z 

1,318 

674 

1,639 

294 


1,089 


The  amount  of  solid  matter  carried  by  a  stream 
is  a  very  serious  problem  in  connection  with  the 
construction  of  storage  reservoirs  thereon.  The  most 
astonishing  stories  are  told  of  volumes  of  sediment 
carried  by  the  rivers  of  southern  Arizona  from  their 
barren  drainage  basins.  It  is  said  that  when  these 
floods  first  appear,  discharged  ofT  of  ranges  that  have 
been  travelled  by  the  large  herds  of  cattle  in  quest  of 
grass,  the  soil  which  has  been  exposed  to  the  direct 
action  of  the  sun,  being  exceedingly  hght  and  dry,  is 
washed  off  in  quantities  that  are  enormous.  In  order 
to  determine  the  amount  of  silt  in  the  Gila  River  at 
The  Buttes,  which  stream  has  a  similar  basin  and 
regimen  to  that  of  Queen  Creek,  the  Geological  Survey 
has  made  observations  by  taking  samples  of  the  water 
daily,  and  permitting  the  mud  to  settle  in  graduated 
tubes.     The  amount  of  mud  is  then  determined  by 


American  Forest  Congress  71 

reading  its  height  upon  the  graduations.  The  mud 
which  is  deposited  has  then  been  treated  in  the  case 
of  numerous  samples  to  a  temperature  of  212  degrees 
Fah.,  and  the  final  amount  of  solid  matter  determined 
by  weight.  Observations  were  continued  from  July 
29,  1895,  to  December  31,  of  the  same  year.  Begin- 
ning on  January  i,  1899,  and  continuing  until  July 
31,  1899,  similar  observations  were  made  at  the  same 
station,  the  amount  of  mud  and  solid  matter  being 
determined  as  previously.  During  the  first  period  the 
volume  of  water  discharged  at  The  Buttes  was  360,523 
acre  feet,  and  it  was  found  that  this  contained  37,984 
acre  feet  of  silt  by  volume  wet.  This  reduced  to  7,704 
acre  feet  of  solids.  The  average  amount  of  light  sedi- 
ment during  this  first  period  was  10^  per  cent  by 
volume  wet,  and  the  amount  of  solids  a  little  over  2  per 
cent.  The  total  amount  of  water  discharged  during 
the  second  period  in  1899  was  118,981  acre  feet,  which 
contained  1.6  per  cent  of  solids,  or  8  per  cent  of  mud 
by  volume  wet.  Frequent  observations  were  made, 
showing  20  per  cent  of  silt  by  volume  wet  during  the 
high  stages  of  the  stream,  and  in  one  instance  27  per 
cent  was  observed.  The  average  amount  of  silt  for  the 
twelve  months'  observation  was  10  per  cent  by  volume 
wet,  and  the  amount  of  solids  2  per  cent.  No  other 
stream  in  the  United  States  is  known  to  carry  such  a 
high  per  cent  of  sediment.  This  is  in  striking  contrast 
with  the  clear  streams  of  our  northern  forested  basins. 
The  water  supply  used  for  domestic  purposes  from 
Cedar  Creek,  Washington,  does  not  require  filtering  or 
settlement. 

The  serious  nature  of  this  silt  problem  can  readily 
be  appreciated  by  those  who  have  studied  the  storage 
of  water  for  irrigation.  It  is  probably  the  gravest  of 
all  the  engineering  problems  related  thereto.     Forestry 


72  Prockedings  o^  thk 

should  assist  greatly  in  removing-  difficulties  of  this 
nature. 

Mr.  Marsten  Manston  made  certain  stream  measure- 
ments on  the  Yuba  River,  California,  for  the  Geological 
Survey.  In  an  article,  entitled  "Features  and  Water 
Rights  of  Yuba  River,  California,"  Bulletin  No.  lOO, 
United  States  Department  of  Agriculture,  in  discussing 
the  stream  flow  from  certain  portions  of  this  basin,  he 
makes  the  following  interesting  comparison  between 
a  forested  and  denuded  basin.  Both  of  these  catch- 
ment areas  are  situated  on  the  western  slope  of  the 
Sierra  Nevada,  adjoin  each  other,  and  have  exposures 
of  marked  similarity. 

''On  the  south  fork  of  the  north  fork  we  have  a 
watershed  area  of  139  square  miles,  which  was  gaged 
on  September  19,  1900,  after  three  successive  seasons 
of  deficient  rainfall,  and  gave  a  minimum  run-off  of 
113  cubic  feet  per  second  or  0.8  cubic  foot  per  second 
per  square  mile.  This  area  is  well  covered  with  timber 
and  brush,  and  in  one  hundred  and  twenty  days  gives 
a  minimum  run-off  of  i,z^  1,1 52,000  cubic  feet.  The 
drainage  basin  of  the  north  fork  is  more  heavily 
timbered  than  the  basin  of  the  other  forks,  and  conse- 
quently has  a  deeper  soil,  and  although  only  one-tenth 
the  total  drainage  area,  it  furnishes  75  per  cent  of  the 
low-water  flow  of  the  entire  drainage  basin  above 
Parks  Bar. 

"On  the  south  fork,  above  Lake  Spaulding,  there  is 
a  watershed  of  120  square  miles,  which  has  heretofore 
been  described  as  comparatively  bare  of  timber,  and 
the  timbered  areas  which  once  existed  have  been  cut 
off.  The  run-off  of  this  area  is  practically  nothing 
for  one  hundred  and  twenty  days  each  year,  due  to 
this  absence  of  forests  and  brush.  If  this  area  were 
afforested  and  gave  a  minimum  run-off  of  0.8  cubic 


American  Fore:st  Congress  73 

foot  per  second  per  square  mile,  the  discharge  would 
be  100  cubic  feet  per  second,  or  equivalent  to  1,036,- 
800,000  cubic  feet  effective  storage  capacity,  a  dis- 
charge more  than  equivalent  to  one-half  the  storage 
capacity  of  all  the  reservoirs  above  Lake  Spaulding 
dam.  These  aggregate  1,375,000,000  cubic  feet,  and 
the  low-water  discharge  of  100  cubic  feet  per  second 
for  one  hundred  and  twenty  days  is  equivalent  to  a 
storage  capacity  of  1,036,000,000  cubic  feet.  As  the 
basis  of  the  above  estimate  is  the  extreme  low-water 
discharge,  it  is  safe  to  assume  that  by  afforesting  the 
watershed,  this  costly  and  extensive  system  of  reser- 
voirs might  be  safely  drawn  upon  for  double  their 
present  capacity.  When  this  reasoning  is  applied  to 
the  entire  i,357  square  miles,  instead  of  to  small 
fractions  thereof,  the  force  of  the  argument  becomes 
more  apparent. 

"It  would  appear  from  the  foregoing  that  the  solu- 
tion of  the  problem  of  storage  of  flood  waters  is  not 
in  the  retention  of  a  small  percentage  of  the  storm 
waters  behind  dams,  but  in  applying  storage  over  the 
entire  watershed  by  the  systematic  protection  and 
extension  of  forest  and  brush-covered  areas." 

Professor  James  W.  Toumey,  a  collaborator  of  the 
Bureau  of  Forestry,  has  selected  certain  small  and 
adjoining  drainage  basins  in  the  San  Bernardino 
Mountains  in  a  portion  of  the  catchment  area  proposed 
to  be  utilized  by  the  Arrowhead  Reservoir  Company. 
Throughout  this  area  this  corporation  for  a  term  of 
years  has  been  making  exhaustive  hydrographic  studies 
of  the  available  water  supply.  A  large  number  of  rain 
gauges  have  been  established  and  stream  measurements 
are  carefully  made  over  weirs  by  skilled  engineers. 
Automatic  clock  registering  devices  have  been  installed 
to  give  a  continuous  record  of  the  flow  at  these  various 


74  Proceedings  oi^  the 

stream  gauging  stations.  It  is  proposed  to  divert  the 
water  flowing  from  a  number  of  these  small  mountain 
basins  which  are  situated  on  the  northerly  slope  of  the 
San  Bernardino  Range  by  means  of  gravity  canals  and 
tunnels  to  the  southern  side  of  the  range  and  into  the 
San  Bernardino  Valley.  This  Arrowhead  Reservoir 
Company  has  placed  its  hydrographic  data  at  the 
disposal  of  the  Bureau  of  Forestry,  which  organiza- 
tion made  a  forest  study  in  connection  therewith.  The 
data  that  is  presented  by  Professor  Toumey  is  perhaps 
the  most  precise  and  definite  information  on  the  sub- 
ject of  related  stream  flow  to  forest  cover  that  we 
have  so  far  been  favored  with  in  the  West.  His 
conclusions,  while  they  were  to  be  expected,  are  grati- 
fying in  their  definiteness.  We  can  do  no  better  than 
to  quote  from  Professor  Toumey  in  extenso : 

"Because  rainfall  is  most  abundant  where  forests 
grow,  many  believe  that  forests  exert  an  important 
influence  on  the  amount  of  precipitation.  A  more 
reasonable  inference,  however,  is  that  rainfall  is  the 
great  factor  in  controlling  the  distribution  and  density 
of  forests. 

"Precipitation  occurs  whenever  the  air  is  suddenly 
cooled  below  the  dew-point.  The  most  effective  cause 
of  this  is  the  expansion  of  air  on  ascending.  This 
upward  movement  is  caused  very  largely  by  cyclonic 
storms.  Whether  forests  have  any  appreciable  effect 
in  cooling  the  air  to  below  the  dew-point  is  uncertain. 
From  the  known  effect  of  forests  on  the  temperature 
and  relative  humidity  of  the  air,  it  is  reasonable  to 
infer  that  they  may  have  some  effect,  at  least  to  a 
small  degree,  and  consequently  that  they  have  some 
influence  in  increasing  precipitation.  The  present  evi- 
dence, however,  derived  from  many  series  of  observa- 
tions conducted  in  Europe  and  elsewhere,  is  so  con- 


American  Forest  Congress  75 

flicting  that  a  definite  answer  to  this  question,  having 
the  stamp  of  scientific  accuracy,  is  not  possible. 

''In  a  careful  study  of  the  behavior  of  the  stream 
flow  on  several  small  catchment  areas  in  the  San  Ber- 
nardino Mountains,  it  has  been  found  that  the  effect 
of  the  forest  in  decreasing  surface  flow  on  small 
catchment  basins  is  enormous,  as  shown  in  the  follow- 
ing tables,  where  three  well  timbered  areas  are  com- 
pared with  a  non-timbered  one: 

Precipitation  and  Run-off  During  December,  1899. 


Area  of 

Condition 

Pre- 

Run-off 

Run-off  in 

catchment 

as  to 

cipita- 

per square 

percentage  of 

basin. 

cover. 

tion. 

mile. 

precipitation. 

Sq.  miles. 

Inches. 

Acre  feet. 

Per  cent. 

0.70 

Forested. 

19+ 

36- 

3 

1.05 

Forested. 

19+ 

73+ 

6 

1.47 

Forested. 

19+ 

70- 

6 

.53       Non-forested.         13—  312+  40 

"This  is  the  stream  discharge  during  a  month  of 
unusually  heavy  precipitation. 

"At  the  beginning  of  the  rainy  season,  in  early 
December,  the  soil  on  all  four  of  these  basins  was 
very  dry  as  a  result  of  the  long  dry  season.  The 
accumulation  of  litter,  duflf,  humus,  and  soil  on  the 
forest-covered  catchment  areas  absorbed  95  per  cent, 
of  the  unusually  large  precipitation.  On  the  non- 
forested  area  only  60  per  cent,  of  the  precipitation 
was  absorbed,  although  the  rainfall  was  much  less. 


Area  of 

Condition 

Pre- 

catchment 

as  to 

cipita- 

basin. 

cover. 

tion. 

Sq.  miles. 

Inches. 

0.70 

Forested. 

24 

1.05 

Forested. 

24 

1.47 

Forested. 

24 

•53 

Non-forested. 

16 

76  PrOCi:EDINGS    01^    THE 

Rainfall   and   Run-off   During   January,   February,   and 
March,  1900. 

Run-off  Run-off  in 

per  square  percentage  of 

mile.  precipitation. 

A  ere  fe  e  t.  Per  cent. 

452-  35 

428-  2,Z 

557-  43 

828-  95 

"The  most  striking  feature  of  this  table  as  compared 
with  the  previous  one  is  the  uniformly  large  run-oflf 
as  compared  with  the  rainfall.  This  clearly  shows 
the  enormous  amount  of  water  taken  up  by  a  dry  soil, 
either  forested  or  non-forested,  as  compared  with 
one  already  nearly  filled  to  saturation.  During  the 
three  months  here  noted,  on  the  forested  basins  about 
three-eighths  of  the  rainfall  appeared  in  the  run-ofif. 

Rapidity  of  Decrease  in  Run-off  After  the  Close  of  the 
Rainy  Season. 

Area  of     Condition           Pre-  April  May  June 

cipita-  run-off  run-off  run-off 

tion.  per  sq.  m.  per  sq.  m.  per  sq.  m. 

Inches.  Acre  feet.  Acre  feet.  Acre  feet. 

1.6  153-  65-           25- 

1.6  146-  70-           30- 

1.6  166-  74-           30- 

.53     Non-forested.         i  56—  2-             o 

"The  above  table  clearly  shows  the  importance  of 
forests  in  sustaining  the  flow  of  mountain  streams. 
The  three  forested  catchment  areas,  v/hich,  during 
December,  experienced  a  run-off  of  but  5  per  cent, 
of  the  heavy  precipitation  for  that  month  and  which 


catchment 

as  to 

basin. 

cover. 

Sq.  miles. 

0.70 

Forested. 

1-05 

Forested, 

1.47 

Forested. 

American  F'orest  Congress 


77 


during  January,  February,  and  March  of  the  following 
year  had  a  run-off  of  approximately  37  per  cent,  of 
the  total  precipitation,  experienced  a  well-sustained 
stream  flow  three  months  after  the  close  of  the  rainy 
season.  The  non-forested  catchment  area,  which, 
during  December,  experienced  a  run-off  of  40  per 
cent,  of  the  rainfall,  and  which  during  the  three  fol- 
lowing months  had  a  run-off  of  95  per  cent,  of  the 
precipitation,  experienced  a  run-off  in  April  (per 
square  mile)  of  less  than  one-third  of  that  from  the 
forested  catchment  areas,  and  in  June  the  flow  from 
the  non-forested  area  had  ceased  altogether. 

Annual    Rainfall   and   Run-off   on    Forested   and    Non- 
forested  Catchment  Areas  in  the  San  Ber- 
nardino Mountains,  California. 


Area  of 

Condition 

Pre- 

Run-off 

Run-off  in 

catchment 

as  to 

cipita- 

per square 

percentage  oi 

basin. 

cover. 

tion. 

mile. 

precipitation. 

Sq.  miles. 

Inches. 

Acre  feet. 

Per  cent. 

0.70 

Forested. 

46 

731 

28 

1.05 

Forested. 

46 

756 

30 

1.47 

Forested. 

46 

904 

36 

.53 

Non-forested. 

33 

1,192 

69 

''In  conclusion,  it  may  be  said  that  although  the 
forest  may  have,  on  the  whole,  but  little  appreciable 
effect  in  increasing  the  rainfall  and  the  annual  run-off, 
its  economic  importance  in  regulating  the  flow  of 
streams  is  beyond  computation.  The  great  indirect 
value  of  the  forest  is  the  effect  which  it  has  in  pre- 
venting wind  and  water  erosion,  thus  allowing  the  soil 
on  hills  and  mountains  to  remain  where  it  is  formed, 
and  in  other  ways  providing  an  adequate  absorbing 
medium   at  the   sources  of  the  water  courses  of  the 


7^  Proceedings  o^  the 

country.  It  is  the  amount  of  water  that  passes  into 
the  soil,  not  the  amount  of  rainfall,  that  makes  a  region 
garden  or  desert." 

The  drainage  basin  of  the  Sacramento  River  in- 
cludes the  greater  part  of  northern  California.  It  has 
been  occupied  by  Anglo-Saxon  settlers  for  the  last 
fifty  years.  During  the  first  portion  of  the  American 
occupation  of  this  State,  sea-going  vessels  are  reported 
to  have  proceeded  up  stream  as  far  as  the  present  city 
of  Sacramento.  The  tidal  range  of  the  river  was 
observed  also  at  this  point.  Placer  mining  was  the 
first  industry.  This  work  consisted  in  washing  the 
oriferous  gravels  found  along  the  western  foothills  of 
the  Sierra  Nevadas.  The  resulting  debris  was  dis- 
charged into  the  streams  and  has  to  a  very  material 
extent  filled  their  channels,  so  that  to-day  the  head 
of  tidal  water  is  many  miles  below  Sacramento,  near 
the  upper  end  of  Grand  Island,  and  only  flat  bottom 
river  steamboats  are  able  to  ascend  the  Sacramento 
River  as  far  as  the  city  of-  that  name.  This  stream 
condition  has  been  still  further  aggravated  by  the 
destruction  of  extensive  areas  of  forest,  both  by  fire, 
lumbering,  and  sheep  grazing.  Yet  the  lumber  in- 
dustry is  but  in  its  infancy  in  this  section,  and  plans 
are  being  perfected  to  cut  down  great  areas  of  virgin 
forest.  Extensive  forest  reserves  have  been  provis- 
ionally set  aside,  covering  most  of  the  remaining  tim- 
bered portions  of  the  basin.  These  contemplated  re- 
serves have  been  greeted  with  a  storm  of  public  protest 
from  central  and  northern  California  that  has  been 
hard  to  allay.  In  February,  1904,  northern  Califor- 
nia was  visited  by  heavy  rain  storms.  While  the 
precipitation  was  great,  according  to  the  statement  of 
Professor  McAdie,  of  the  Weather  Bureau,  it  was  by 
no  means  the  heaviest  rain  which  has  occurred  in  this 


American  Forest  Congress  79 

section,  and  it  was  one  that  could  reasonably  be  ex- 
pected to  be  exceeded  in  violence  in  the  future.  How- 
ever, with  the  combined  conditions  of  reduced  forest 
cover  and  filled  river  channels,  a  flood  condition  was 
produced  in  the  Sacramento  Valley  last  February 
which  has  no  known  equal  in  the  previous  history  of 
the  State.  Fully  800,000  acres  of  valley  lands  were 
submerged  and  the  damages  are  estimated  to  have 
reached  into  the  millions.  All  this  is  in  spite  of  the 
fact  that  over  twenty  million  ($20,000,000)  dollars 
had  been  expended  in  the  construction  of  levees  to 
prevent  these  overflow  conditions.  A  great  State  con- 
vention was  called  in  San  Francisco  to  consider  the 
disaster  that  threatened  the  commonwealth.  Eminent 
engineers  have  been  brought  to  California  from  the 
lower  Mississippi  basin  and  elsewhere  in  the  East  to 
study  this  great  overflow  problem.  Organizations 
have  been  perfected  to  urge,  if  not  demand,  both  from 
the  State  and  from  the  nation,  relief  from  impending 
disaster.  It  is  contemplated  that  a  comprehensive 
levee  system  must  be  constructed  the  entire  length 
of  the  valley  at  enormous  expense. 

What  a  beautiful  assemblage  of  contradictions  this 
situation  presents  to  the  forester !  A  great  intelligent 
State  with  popular  sentiment,  at  least  in  the  injured 
section,  set  against  the  creation  of  forest  reserves  in 
this  basin !  The  assemblage  of  conventions  and  engi- 
neers to  devise  plans  to  prevent  flood  overflow  at  a 
contemplated  expenditure  of  millions.  Doubtless  with 
the  channels  of  the  stream  in  the  condition  that  they 
now  present  a  levee  system  will  be  required,  but  the 
greatest  and  most  lasting  preventative  for  these  con- 
ditions would  be  the  adequate  protection  of  the  forest 
reserves. 

It  may  be  stated  that  while  there  is  no  definite  scien- 


8o  Proceedings  of  the 

tific  information  that  forests  increase  rainfall,  yet  we 
have  certain  striking  instances  presented  where  the 
rainfall  is  greater  on  adjacent  forested  areas  than  on 
those  that  are  denuded.  At  least  in  the  arid  regions 
it  may  be  stated  that  the  total  annual  output  from  a  de- 
forested drainage  basin  is  greater  than  from  a  tim- 
bered area,  but  that  the  regimen  of  the  stream  is  dis- 
tinctly to  the  disadvantage  of  all  who  are  interested 
in  the  use  of  the  watered  resources  of  the  country, 
whether  he  be  navigator,  irrigator,  or  water-power 
investor.  From  the  denuded  area  the  floods  are 
greater  and  the  drought  is  more  intense.  To  remedy 
this  condition,  one  naturally  turns  to  the  storage  reser- 
voir for  relief,  yet  even  in  this  extremity  one  is  con- 
fronted with  adverse  conditions.  The  violent  flood 
from  the  bare  basin  rushing  through  the  mountains 
carries  with  it  eroded  sediment,  which  it  deposits  in 
the  first  pool  of  still  water  that  it  encounters.  The 
result  is  the  reduction  of  the  storage  capacity  of  the 
reservoirs  along  its  course.  Forests  are  the  natural 
and  greatest  storage  reservoirs  and  regulators  of  water 
supply.  On  few  streams  do  we  find  reservoir  capaci- 
ties even  approximating  the  total  annual  output  of 
the  drainage  basins  above  them.  Accepting  the  facts 
as  outlined  above,  the  great  importance  of  preserving 
the  forests,  particularly  in  the  semi-arid  regions  of 
our  country,  is  most  manifest.  In  southern  California, 
Arizona,  and  New  Mexico  particularly,  we  are  so 
closely  bordering  on  a  condition  of  desert  that  when 
the  forest  is  once  destroyed  the  difficulty  of  reproduc- 
ing it  renders  the  task  well  nigh  hopeless.  We  should, 
therefore,  all  join  with  the  Bureau  of  Forestry  in  its 
effort  to  ''save  the  forests  and  store  the  floods." 


RIGHTS  OF  WAY  IN  FOREST  RESERVES 

BY 

MORRIS  BIEN 

Consulting  Engineer,  United  States  Reclamation  Service 


'T'HE  Forest  Reserve  Act  of  June  4,  1897,  contains 
two  provisions  which  affect  rights  of  way  within 
the  reserves ;  namely,  that  actual  settlers  residing  with- 
in the  boundaries  of  the  reserves  shall  for  purposes  of 
egress  and  ingress,  be  permitted  to  construct  wagon- 
roads  and  other  improvements  necessary  to  reach  their 
homes  and  utilize  their  property,  under  rules  and  regu- 
lations to  be  prescribed  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior, 
and  also  that  all  waters  on  the  reserves  may  be  used  for 
beneficial  purposes  under  the  State  laws  or  under  laws 
of  the  United  States  and  the  rules  and  regulations 
thereunder. 

In  the  administration  of  the  first  of  these  provisions, 
for  wagon-roads  and  other  improvements,  the  General 
Land  Office  regulations  provide  for  the  construction 
of  private  wagon-roads  and  county  roads  wherever 
they  may  be  found  necessary  and  useful ;  no  right, 
however,  can  be  acquired  upon  the  public  lands  for 
such  roads  as  against  the  United  States.  No  public 
timber,  stone,  or  other  material  can  be  taken  for  the 
construction  of  such  roads,  without  permission  from 
the  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  the  application  giving 
necessary  details  concerning  the  extent,  location,  and 
estimated  value  of  the  material  to  be  taken. 

The  second  provision,  concerning  the  use  of  the 
waters,  merely  confirms  the  application  to  forest  re- 


82  Proceedings  of  the 

serves  of  the  laws  then  existing,  but  did  not  make  ap- 
pHcable  to  such  reserves  any  laws  which  did  not  then 
apply  to  reservations.  These  laws  were  of  several 
kinds,  and  provided  for  rights  of  way  and  for  irriga- 
tion, electric  and  other  purposes. 

A  subsequent  act,  approved  February  15,  1901,  pro- 
vides for  right  of  way  over  forest  and  other  reserva- 
tions in  general  and  certain  national  parks  in  Califor- 
nia, for  electrical  plants,  telephone  and  telegraph  lines, 
canals  and  other  water  conduits  for  any  beneficial  use 
of  water.  These  acts  provide  that  the  allowance  of 
such  rights  of  way  within  the  reservations  shall  be 
subject  to  the  approval  of  the  department  having 
supervision  over  them. 

At  the  time  of  the  passage  of  the  Forest  Reserve 
Act,  there  v/as  no  provision  for  right  of  way  for 
railroads  through  such  reserves.  Consequently,  it  be- 
came necessary  for  each  railroad  company  desiring  to 
cross  a  reserve  to  obtain  a  special  act  of  Congress,  and 
during  the  years  1898  and  1899  several  such  acts  were 
passed.  In  each  of  them  was  incorporated  a  provision, 
which  was  first  inserted  at  the  instance  of  the  General 
Land  Office,  that  no  timber  shall  be  cut  by  the  railroad 
company  for  any  purposes  outside  the  right  of  way 
actually  granted. 

By  the  act  of  March  3,  1899  (30  Stat.,  1233),  au- 
thority is  given  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior  to 
approve  rights  of  way  in  the  form  provided  by  existing 
law,  for  wagon-roads,  railroads,  or  other  highways 
across  any  forest  reservation,  when  in  his  judgment 
the  public  interests  would  not  be  injuriously  affected. 
From  that  time  on,  there  was  no  need  for  a  special 
right-of-way  act  across  a  forest  reserve. 

Nevertheless,  during  the  session  of  Congress  in 
1901-2,  a  bill  was  introduced  providing  for  right  of 


American  Forest  Congress  83 

way  for  the  Central  Arizona  Railway  Company 
through  the  San  Francisco  Mountains  Forest  Reserve 
in  Arizona.  In  reporting  upon  this  bill,  the  General 
Land  Office  referred  to  the  legislation  of  1899,  and 
stated  that  there  was  no  need  of  such  law,  and  that  it 
would  be  better  for  application  to  be  made  in  the 
regular  way,  subject  to  the  general  regulations  in 
force.  The  bill  was,  however,  passed  without  change, 
and  was  presented  the  President.  At  this  stage,  those 
interested  in  the  matter,  fearing  that  it  would  be  vetoed, 
secured  the  passage  of  a  resolution  (April  12,  1902; 
32  Stat.,  1767),  asking  for  the  return  of  the  bill.  This 
was  not  done,  but  the  bill  was  vetoed  by  the  President 
April  23,  1902.  At  the  next  session  of  Congress  a 
bill  of  an  entirely  different  character  was  introduced. 
This  provided  simply  that  the  company  would  be 
granted  right  of  way  upon  compliance  with  the  general 
regulations  of  the  department.  Such  a  bill  was  of 
no  practical  use,  but  it  was  not  objectionable.  It  be- 
came a  law  February  25,  1903  (32  Stat.,  907). 

Every  application  for  right  of  way  over  a  forest 
reserve  for  any  purpose  is  reported  on  by  a  forest 
superintendent  or  supervisor,  who  is  required  to  make 
a  statement  in  detail  upon  every  point  affecting  the 
interests  of  the  government  in  regard  to  the  preserva- 
tion of  the  reserves. 

A  bond  is  required  from  the  applicant  that  he  will 
pay  to  the  United  States,  for  any  and  all  damage  to 
the  public  lands,  timber,  natural  curiosities,  or  other 
public  property  on  such  reservation,  or  upon  the  lands 
of  the  United  States,  by  reason  of  such  use  and  occu- 
pation of  the  reserve,  regardless  of  the  cause  or  circum- 
stances under  which  such  damage  may  occur.  Such 
a  bond  is  required  in  every  case  except  those  of  small 
importance,  a  definite  limit  being  fixed  in  the  regula- 
tions. 


B4  pROCEKDiNGS  01^  Yhe: 

The  applicant  is  required,  also,  to  file  a  stipulation 
that  the  right  of  way  is  not  so  located  as  to  interfere 
with  the  proper  occupation  of  the  reservation  by  the 
Government;  that  no  timber  wall  be  cut  from  the 
reserve  outside  of  the  right  of  way ;  that  the  applicant 
will  remove  no  timber  within  the  right  of  way,  except 
only  such  as  is  rendered  necessary  by  the  proper  use 
and  enjoyment  of  the  privilege;  that  he  will  also 
remove  from  the  reservation,  or  destroy  imder  proper 
safeguards  as  determined  by  the  General  Land  Office, 
all  standing,  fallen,  dead  timber,  as  well  as  all  refuse 
cuttings,  etc.,  for  such  distance  on  each  side  of  the 
line  as  may  be  determined  by  the  General  Land  Office 
to  be  esesential  for  the  protection  of  the  reserve  from 
fire ;  also  that  the  applicant  will  furnish  free  of  charge 
such  assistance  in  men  and  materials  for  fighting  fires 
as  may  be  spared  without  serious  injury  to  the  appli- 
cant's business. 

With  a  careful  scrutiny  of  all  applications  by  forest 
officers  on  the  ground,  and  a  thorough  enforcement  of 
rules,  regulations,  and  stipulations  such  as  those  indi- 
cated, it  is  believed  that  the  occupation  of  the  reserves 
for  these  necessary  rights  of  way  can  be  permitted 
without  detriment  to  the  Government  interests. 

The  present  laws  relating  to  rights  of  way  upon 
the  public  lands,  as  well  as  upon  forest  reserves,  are 
such  as  to  facilitate  the  operations  of  speculators  to 
obtain,  secure,  and  retain  controlling  points  for  the  use 
of  water  for  railroad,  irrigation,  power,  and  other  pur- 
poses. The  railroad  and  irrigation  acts  provide  for  a 
forfeiture  at  the  expiration  of  five  years  from  the  date 
of  location,  but  such  forfeiture  cannot  be  declared 
except  by  Congress  or  through  courts. 

Inasmuch  as  there  are  many  thousand  miles  of  rail- 
road   and    irrigation    rights   of   way    which    are    now 


American  F'orest  Congrkss  B5 

subject  to  forfeiture,  the  declaration  thereof  by  pro- 
cedure in  the  courts  is  practically  out  of  the  question, 
except  in  a  few  specific  cases  where  the  interests  of  the 
public  or  of  bona  fide  enterprises  demand  action. 

It  is  important,  however,  for  the  proper  development 
of  the  entire  West,  that  these  abandoned  rights  of  way 
should  be  cancelled  at  the  earliest  possible  date,  for 
the  reason  that  as  soon  as  any  bona  fide  enterprise  is 
started,  these  rights,  which  are  practically  dead,  are 
at  once  revived,  and  make  enormous  claims  for  the 
rights  which  they  hold  and  which  cannot  be  set  aside 
without  such  delay  as  to  seriously  jeopardize  the  pro- 
posed development. 

Congress  should  declare  the  forfeiture  of  all  rights 
of  way  now  subject  to  forfeiture,  and  authorize  the 
Secretary  of  the  Interior  to  declare  the  forfeiture  of 
other  rights  already  granted  and  to  be  granted  in  the 
future,  upon  the  expiration  of  the  time  allowed  for 
construction  by  the  law. 

This,  however,  would  remedy  only  one  feature  of 
the  difficulty.  It  would  be  just  as  easy,  as  the  laws 
now  stand,  to  tie  up  these  rights,  for  five  years  at 
least,  in  the  future.  In  order  to  meet  this  phase  of  the 
situation,  it  is  recommended  that  a  reasonable  charge 
be  made  for  the  use  of  these  rights  of  way  upon  public 
lands  and  forest  reserves.  This  charge  should  be  suf- 
ficient to  deter  the  application  for  these  rights  merely 
for  speculative  purposes,  and  yet  not  so  great  as  to 
interfere  with  future  development  of  railroad,  irriga- 
tion, and  electric  enterprises. 

The  time  has  now  come  when  the  value  of  these 
lands  to  the  public  is  so  great  that  their  further  disposi- 
tion should  be  most  carefully  scrutinized.  The  great 
increase  in  recent  years  in  the  number  of  these  appli- 
cations shows  very  impressively  the  need  of  such  safe- 

D 


86    *  Proci:e:dings  of  the: 

guards  to  protect  the  interests  of  the  pubHc  in  the 
future. 

These  considerations  apply  with  particular  force  to 
the  forest  reserves,  because  no  claim  should  be  allowed 
to  attach  to  lands  within  them  except  for  actual  use 
for  public  benefit,  and  it  is  exceedingly  urgent  that 
this  Congress  make  a  special  effort  to  impress  upon 
the  Congress  of  the  United  States  the  necessity  for 
immediate  action  along  the  lines  indicated. 


IRRIGATION  CONSTRUCTION  AND  TIM- 
.  BER  SUPPLIES 

BY 

ARTHUR  P.  DAVIS 

"     Assistant  Chief  Engineer,  United  States  Reclamation  Service 

'X'HE  relation  of  scientific  forest  protection  and  cul- 
ture to  irrigation  may  best  be  discussed  and 
appreciated  b}^  considering  its  importance  to  the  suc- 
cessful operation  of  the  Reclamation  Act,  which  has 
become  by  the  logic  of  events,  the  main  exponent  of 
irrigation  development. 

The  broad  object  of  that  law  is  the  creation  under 
irrigation,  of  the  maximum  number  of  prosperous 
homes.  These  homes  will  depend  in  a  great  degree 
upon  the  forests,  which  are  secondary  in  importance 
only  to  the  supply  of  water  and  land. 

The  main  reasons  for  the  economic  importance  of 
the  scientific  culture  and  preservation  of  the  forests, 
are  the  protection  and  regulation  of  the  water  supply, 
the  preservation  of  the  lumber  industry,  and  the  con- 
tinuation of  the  supply  of  wood  for  fuel  and  numerous 
other  domestic  requirements.  In  all  these  the  irrigator 
is  intensely  interested,  and  all  have  an  important  bear- 
ing upon  his  future  prosperity. 

The  utility  of  the  forest  cover  in  conserving  the 
water  supply  is  generally  recognized,  and  its  impor- 
tance is  becoming  more  and  more  appreciated.  The 
protective  effect  of  the  mluch  of  leaves  and  twigs,  and 
the  dark  coolness  of  the  forest  shade,  appeal  to  all  as 
beneficial  regulators  of  run-off,  and  preventatives  of 
evaporation.     Nor  does  it  require  scientific  demonstra- 


8o  Procke^dings  o^  the 

tion  to  convince  the  settler  of  the  importance  to  his 
welfare  of  a  continued  lumber  and  fuel  supply.  The 
great  value  to  the  settler  and  the  settler's  live  stock, 
of  the  shade  and  shelter  afforded  by  the  trees  of  the 
forest  and  woodland  are  fully  appreciated.  Even  the 
aesthetic  and  sanitary  value  of  forests  are  not  over- 
looked. 

Related  to  the  above  is  the  influence  of  forests  on 
irrigation  construction.  This  may  not  be  obvious  to 
the  average  person,  but  the  tendency  of  modern  con- 
struction is  to  the  use  of  the  more  permanent  materials, 
less  subject  than  wood  to  destruction  and  decay.  This 
is  facilitated  by  the  development  of  the  useful  proper- 
ties of  concrete,  iron,  and  steel,  and  their  combinations. 
The  Reclamation  Service  in  particular  is  endeavoring 
to  build,  "not  for  a  day,  but  for  all  time,"  and  the 
wooden  gate,  the  wooden  flume,  and  other  structures 
so  much  in  evidence  in  the  past  are  to  be  entirely 
superseded  by  more  permanent  materials. 

To  this  end,  massive  gates  of  cast  iron  and  bronze, 
set  in  abutments  of  concrete,  are  being  introduced. 
Experiments  have  been  made  on  reinforced  concrete 
for  use  in  pressure  pipes  and  flumes,  and  the  wooden 
dam  is  being  superseded  by  that  of  concrete,  masonry, 
or  earth.  To  the  same  end  the  proportion  of  tunnels 
is  increased,  underground  conduits  being  the  safest  and 
most  permanent  yet  devised. 

The  effect  of  such  a  policy  upon  the  consumption  of 
wood  is  not,  however,  so  great  as  might  be  supposed, 
especially  in  the  construction  period.  The  require- 
ments for  timber  are  still  very  great  for  piling  and 
subaqeous  structures  to  which  wood  is  well  adapted, 
and  for  buildings  and  the  large  class  of  temporary 
structures  required  on  great  irrigation  works.  No 
satisfactory  substitute  has  yet  been  found  for  timber  in 


American  Fore:st  Congress  89 

tunnels  and  every  structure  of  concrete  requires  wooden 
forms.  So  numerous  and  so  great  are  the  indispensa- 
ble uses  of  timber  in  such  works,  that  the  existence  of 
a  supply  of  timber  near  a  projected  work  frequently 
has  an  important  bearing  upon  its  feasibility  and  cost. 
Nor  is  this  fact  often  appreciated  fully.  We  are  ac- 
customed to  estimate  the  utility  of  a  lumber  supply 
on  the  basis  of  its  selling  price,  rather  than  of  the  cost 
of  obtaining  the  supply  elsewhere.  For  example,  the 
cost  of  sawing  and  hauling  timber  to  the  point  of  use 
on  a  certain  large  project  in  the  west  is  about  twenty- 
five  ($25.00)  dollars  per  thousand.  Were  it  not  for 
the  small  forest  from  which  this  supply  is  obtained, 
it  would  be  necessary  to  import  lumber  from  a  distance 
at  a  cost  of  over  fifty  ($50.00)  dollars  per  thousand, 
and  this  represents  the  real  utility  of  the  local  supply 
as  a  factor  in  the  construction.  It  is  not  too  much  to 
say  that  the  feasibility  of  some  important  irrigation 
works  depends  upon  the  proximity  of  ample  timber 
supplies. 

The  development  of  irrigation  will  in  the  future 
lead  to  the  rapid  opening  and  development  of  timbered 
areas  which  are  now  merely  in  their  natural  state. 
This  fact  emphasizes  the  necessity  of  placing  the  forests 
at  once  under  the  rigid  scientific  supervision  of  trained 
government  experts.  If  left  to  the  manipulation  of  sel- 
fish interests  as  in  the  past,  the  result  will  be  lavish  and 
wasteful  use,  and  probably  destruction  of  the  forest. 
Every  tree  that  will  make  lumber  will  be  cut,  the  best 
parts  hauled  away,  the  branches  and  part  of  the  trunk 
left  on  the  ground  to  feed  the  fires  that  will  soon  follow 
and  destroy  all  that  the  axe  has  left.  Temporary 
profits  will  be  reaped  by  a  few,  and  the  community 
will  be  robbed  of  its  natural  heritage.  Eventually,  the 
forest  must  be   replanted  and   restored  at  enormous 


90  Proce:i:dings  o:^  The: 

expenses  of  time  and  money,  which  can  all  be  saved 
by  a  wise  supervision  without  diminishing  the  present 
utility  of  the  forest,  nor  destroying  its  future  value, 
by  merely  protecting  and  fostering  the  tendency  of  na- 
ture. 

Such  policies  of  protection  would  have  popular  sup- 
port, but  the  local  communities  have  not  the  means, 
authority,  nor  skill  to  insure  proper  supervision,  which 
much  be  provided  by  the  Government  under  the  policy 
already  proposed,  the  efficacy  and  wisdom  of  which 
has  been  so  thoroughly  demonstrated  both  at  home 
and  abroad.  The  policy  that  provided  for  present 
needs  without  mortgaging  the  future. 


FOREST  AREAS  OF  CATCHMENT  BASINS 

{Impromplu  Address) 

BY 
H.  M.  WILSON 

United  States  Geological  Survey 

I  AM  very  much  interested  in  one  feature  of  the  dis- 
cussion that  has  been  brought  before  you  to-day, 
and  that  is  the  relation  of  run-off  from  catchment 
basins  to  the  forested  areas  of  those  basins.  There  is 
nothing  new  on  this  subject,  however,  which  it  seems 
to  me  I  can  bring  before  you.  I  heartily  concur  in  the 
general  opinion  expressed  by  two  of  the  speakers, 
Messrs.  Lippincott  and  Davis,  upon  the  effect  of  forests 
in  regulating  the  discharge  of  streams  and  thus  adding 
to  their  usefulness  as  providers  of  water  for  irrigation 
and  upon  the  effect  of  this  regulation  in  preventing 
disastrous  floods  which,  by  eroding  the  surface  of  the 
soil,  carry  vast  amounts  of  sediment  to  the  streams 
below  and  destroy  both  them  and  the  surfaces  which 
they  erode.  There  are  other  features,  however,  of  the 
subject  of  forest  influence  on  water  supply  which  are 
frequently  noted  in  connection  with  the  preservation 
of  forests,  which  it  might  be  well  for  me  to  qualify. 
We  are  familiar  wath  the  old-time  claim  of  the  effect 
of  forests  in  increasing  the  rainfall  and  all  of  the 
foresters  present  who  have  looked  into  the  subject,  I 
am  sure,  believe  now  that  whereas  it  is  possible  that 
forests  may  have  some  effect  upon  the  amount  of  pre- 
cipitation, there  is  as  yet  no  definite  information  avail- 
able from  any  source,  either  of  experiment  or  investi- 
gation, which  goes  to  prove  it.  And  that  feature  of  the 
subject  of  the  effect  of  forests  on  water  supply  is  one 
which  I  think  the  Weather  Bureau,  or  possibly  the 


92  Procekdings  01^  the: 

Bureau  of  Forestry,  should  have  an  opportunity  to 
investigate  in  a  way  in  which  it  has  never  as  yet  been 
investigated,  so  that  we  may  learn  positively  if  there 
is  any  such  effect ;  and  it  is  not  a  form  of  investigation 
that  is  difficult  to  carry  out.  It  has  been  attempted 
in  haphazard  ways  over  limited  areas  in  Europe,  but 
never  by  the  wholesale  method  of  detailed  regional 
study. 

There  is  another  feature  of  the  subject  that  occurs 
to  me,  and  that  is  the  claim  not  infrequently  made  that 
forests  increase  the  discharge  from  streams,  and  that 
claim  is  also  not  infrequently  put  forward  by  over- 
zealous  friends  of  forestry.  And  that,  too,  may  be 
correct,  though  from  any  investigation  or  any  research 
yet  made  into  the  subject  I  fail  to  find  that  there  is  any 
clear  evidence  that  forests  do  increase  the  amount  of 
water  available  for  discharge  by  streams,  and  for  the 
uses  of  man.  And  that  is  another  investigation  which 
might  readily  be  undertaken  in  this  country  by  the 
proper  Government  officials  or  others  and  thrashed  out 
to  a  definite  conclusion,  and  which  might  react  very 
favorably  upon  the  subject  of  forest  preservation.  I 
can  conceive  now  that  the  Reclamation  Service  or  the 
Hydrographic  Branch  of  the  Geological  Survey,  over 
which  Mr.  Newell  presides,  might  undertake  such  ex- 
periments as  those  of  Professor  Toumey,  of  the  Bu- 
reau of  Forestry,  which  Mr.  Lippincott  illustrated  here 
in  the  upper  diagrams.  I  can  conceive  that  Mr. 
Newell's  bureau,  with  the  facilities  that  it  has,  might 
readily  be  encouraged  to  take  up  the  question  of  the 
discharge  of  streams  from  forested  and  from  non- 
forested  areas  of  like  conditions  and  show  what  Euro- 
peans, the  people  of  India,  and  older  countries  inter- 
ested in  forestry,  have  not  yet  been  able  to  show, 
whether  or  not  forests  have  any  actual  effect  in  in- 
creasing the  water  supply. 


FORESTS  AS  A  FACTOR   IN  SHAPING 

THE  PHYSIOGRAPHIC  FORM  OF 

MOUNTAINS 

BY 

J.  W.  TOUMEY 

Professor  of  Forestrj',  Yale  Forest  School 

HTHE  effect  of  forest  cover  upon  the  surface  flow  of 
water  has  been  for  many  years  an  inviting  field 
for  speculation  and  research,  both  in  this  country  and 
abroad.  Since  the  extended  researches  of  Ebermayer 
of  Bavaria,  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  ago,  most 
writers  in  this  field  have  placed  special  emphasis  upon 
the  effect  of  forests  in  providing  a  larger  and  better 
absorbing  medium.  It  has  been  argued  that  the  chief 
influence  of  the  forest  upon  the  flow  of  streams,  lies  in 
the  fact  that  it  provides  a  looser  and  deeper  soil,  cov- 
ered with  a  variable  depth  of  humus  and  litter,  into 
and  through  which  the  precipitation  freely  seeps. 
Therefore,  a  much  larger  part  of  the  rainfall  is  taken 
up  by  forest  soil  than  by  soil  in  the  open,  and  there 
is  less  to  pass  directly  into  the  streams  by  flowing  over 
the  surface.  As  a  result,  the  flow  of  streams  in  fo; 
ested  regions  are  more  sustained  than  similar  stream  • 
flowing  from  naked  drainage  basins. 

There  is  at  the  present  time  no  serious  opposition 
to  the  view  as  here  set  forth.  In  recent  years,  how- 
ever, special  emphasis  has  been  placed  upon  the  follow- 
ing, viz.,  that  the  proportion  of  the  rainfall  that  reaches 
the  streams  and  the  manner  of  its  reaching  them  de- 
pends chiefly  upon  the  physiographic  features  of  the 


94  Prockkdings  of  the 

region.  The  contention  is  made  that  when  other  con- 
ditions are  similar,  it  is  the  physiographic  form  which 
most  largely  determines  the  amount  of  run-off  in 
proportion  to  the  precipitation  and  the  fluctuations  in 
stream-flow  as  well. 

I  wish  to  emphasize  the  fact  that  the  physiographic 
form  of  the  drainage  basin,  more  particularly  those 
features  which  most  largely  influence  stream-flow,  have 
been  brought  about  by  forest  growth  acting  through 
long  periods  of  time. 

In  checking  wind  and  water  erosion  at  the  sources 
of  our  mountain  streams,  the  forest  produces  a  much 
greater  effect  upon  physiographic  detail  than  generally 
recognized.  On  the  summits  of  mountains  and  on 
ridges,  where  the  forest  has  a  density  of  .8  or  greater, 
and  where  the  forest  floor  has  been  undisturbed  by 
fire  and  grazing,  the  wealth  of  litter,  humus,  and  min- 
eral soil  takes  up  practically  all  of  the  precipitation ; 
which,  seeping  through  the  soil,  reappears  on  the  sur- 
face at  lower  elevations  without  bringing  silt  and  other 
eroded  material  with  it.  Erosion,  therefore,  in  such 
regions  is  very  slow  as  compared  with  non-forested 
regions. 

Vertical  corrasion  in  the  channels  of  the  intermit- 
tent and  permanent  streams  is  also  a  slower  process, 
because  there  is  but  little  grinding  material  carried 
by  the  m^oving  water. 

On  the  other  hand,  when  summits  and  ridges  have 
been  without  forest  cover  for  long  periods,  there  is  not 
only  an  almost  total  absence  of  litter  and  humus,  but 
a  scant  covering  of  mineral  soil  as  well.  The  absence 
of  an  absorbing  medium  causes  the  larger  part  of  the 
rainfall  to  flow  over  the  surface  from  the  place  of  fall- 
ing.    This  surface  flow  causes  rapid  erosion. 

The  forest,  in  preventing  the  transportation  of  soil 


American  Forkst  Congress  95 

at  the  sources  of  mountain  streams,  ultimately  brings 
about  a  very  different  physiographic  configuration  from 
that  of  non-forested  areas  under  otherwise  similar 
conditions.  In  well  timbered  mountain  summits  and 
ridges  are  usually  broad  and  rounded.  On  the  other 
hand,  non-timbered  summits  and  ridges  are  inclined  to 
be  sharp  and  jagged,  with  very  precipitous  slopes.  The 
former  have  a  convex  physiographic  form,  while  the 
latter  have  a  concave.  This  condition  can  be  observed 
in  all  the  mountain  ranges  of  the  West.  Even  in  the 
same  range,  these  features  above  or  below  timber  line 
have  sharp  ridges  and  concave  lines,  while  in  the  dense 
timber  the  ridges  are  rounded  and  the  form  is  convex. 

I  am  well  aware  that  convexity  in  physiographic 
form  is  indicative  of  youth,  while  concave  physio- 
graphic form  indicates  age.  Although  in  a  broad  way 
this  is  true,  the  concave  or  old  type  is  reached  at  a  com- 
paratively early  age  on  elevations  that  do  not  bear  a 
forest  cover,  while  it  is  almost  indefinitely  postponed 
on  elevations  that  sustain  an  uninterrupted  forest 
growth. 

The  convex  configuration  of  forested  summits  and 
ridges  is  the  ideal  type  for  the  retention  of  a  maximum 
amount  of  the  precipitation  on  the  higher  portions  of 
the  drainage  basin  to  ultimately  seep  through  the  soil 
and  give  the  streams  a  sustained  flow. 

The  concave  configuration,  which  is  so  character- 
istic of  non-timbered  mountains,  permits  the  precipi- 
tation for  the  most  part  to  escape  over  the  surface,  not 
only  on  account  of  the  absence  of  an  absorbing  me- 
dium, but  because  of  the  more  precipitous  slopes. 

The  former  condition  causes  a  large  percentage  of 
the  rainfall  to  be  retained  at  high  elevation  from 
whence,  through  seepage,  it  gives  perennial  flow  to 
mountain  streams.     The  latter  condition  results  in  the 


96  Proceedings  oi^  the 

greater  part  of  the  precipitation  rushing  over  the  sur- 
face to  lower  levels.  Only  a  small  percentage  of  the 
rainfall  is  retained  at  the  higher  elevations,  hence  there 
is  but  little  seepage  to  feed  the  streams  and  they  become 
dry  soon  after  the  flood  waters  subside. 

I  cannot  here  enter  into  the  various  observations  and 
researches  made  under  my  direction  during  the  past 
four  years,  which  bear  upon  the  relation  of  forest  cover 
to  stream  flow.  These  investigations  and  the  conclu- 
sions which  they  appear  to  warrant  are  soon  to  be  pub- 
lished in  bulletin  form  by  the  Bureau  of  Forestry,  U. 
S.  Department  of  Agriculture. 

The  single  point  that  I  here  desire  to  emphasize  is 
this:  forest  cover  in  mountain  streams,  through  its 
influence  upon  erosion,  has  a  very  appreciable  effect 
upon  physiographic  form,  and  this  effect  of  the  forest 
working  through  long  periods  of  time,  is  of  the  utmost 
importance  in  its  influences  upon  the  flow  of  mountain 
streams. 


PART  III 


THE    LUMBER    INDUSTRY    AND    THE 
FORESTS 


THE     LUMBERMAN'S     INTEREST     IN 
FORESTRY 

BY 

N.  W.  McLEOD 

President,  National  Lumber  Manufacturers'  Association 

C  UCH  an  assemblage  as  the  one  before  me  would 
have  been  quite  impossible  ten  years  ago.  The 
lumberman  and  the  forester  were  then  far  apart.  So 
long  as  forestry  was  regarded  as  merely  scientific,  but 
little  progress  was  made;  but  as  it  came  largely 
through  the  influence  of  our  Bureau  of  Forestry,  to 
be  more  clearly  understood  as  a  musiness  matter,  the 
prospect  has  brightened  rapidly.  The  very  fact  that 
this  American  Forest  Congress  has  assigned  one  ses- 
sion of  its  meeting  to  the  discussion  of  the  lumber 
industry  and  the  forests  is  excellent  evidence  that  the 
development  of  forestry  is  in  the  right  direction.  And 
in  developing  an  American  system  of  forestry  founded 
upon  sound  business  principles  and  adapted  to  local 
conditions,  the  Bureau  of  Forestry  is  doing  a  very 
important  work. 

For  a  number  of  years  at  the  annual  meetings  of  the 
various  lumber  manufacturers'  associations,  the 
Bureau  has  been  represented  by  some  well  equipped 
member  of  its  staff,  who  delivered  an  address  of 
interest  and  value  to  practical  lumbermen.  The 
Bureau  has  in  a  large  measure  succeeded  in  convincing 
the  lumbermen  that  forestry  is  not  antagonistic  to  the 
lumbermen's  interest,  but  in  line  with  it.  At  present 
while  forestry  is  accepted  tentatively,  the  individual 
is  backward  about  inaugurating  an  innovation  in  his 


loo  Prockkdings  of  th?: 

own  operations,  as  any  plan  that  requires  years  to 
prove  profitable;  the  commercial  mind  is  slow  to  em- 
brace. 

The  facts  that  must  deeply  impress  the  individual 
are  those  which  influence  matters  of  personal  interest. 
The  lumberman  centers  his  attention  on  that  part  of 
the  forest  which  he  can  profitably  convert  into  money. 
The  young,  immature  trees  are  obstacles  to  him,  which 
increase  the  cost  of  transporting  timber  to  the  mill. 

Tl  0  forester,  on  the  other  hand,  considers  young 
trees  as  the  basis  of  future  returns. 

In  order  that  the  best  results  may  be  obtained,  the 
forester  must  understand  the  economic  problems  that 
confront  the  lumberman.  The  manufacturer  of  lum- 
ber faces  the  necessity  of  providing  raw  material 
(standing  timber)  for  from  five  to  twenty  years,  de- 
pending on  the  size  of  his  plant,  in  order  to  justify  his 
investment.  He  usually  has  maturing  payments  on 
his  timber  land,  that  have  to  be  met  from  the  returns 
of  operation.  This  necessity  has  generally  precluded 
in  the  earlier  years  of  a  lumberman's  operation  serious 
consideration  of  anything  but  the  production  of  the 
lumber  at  the  lowest  possible  cost.  The  practice  of 
forestry  would  increase  the  cost  of  production  per 
unit  on  account  of  the  less  amount  of  timber  imme- 
diately available  from  a  given  area.  The  percentage 
of  increase  in  cost  of  production  would  be  very  slight 
where  there  is  a  heavy  stand  of  timber,  but  in  a  light 
stand  the  percentage  of  increased  cost  would  be  quite 
large.  The  individual  operator  has  always  had  to 
consider — first,  the  necessity  of  employing  a  larger 
investment;  second,  competition  of  manufacturers, 
who  are  operating  regardless  of  the  principles  of 
forestry.  This  competition  during  periods  of  general 
commercial  depression  might  force  the  manufacturer 


American  Forest  Congress  ioi 

who  is  practicing  forestry  to  run  his  plant  at  a  loss, 
or  suspend  operations  until  the  conditions  of  supply 
and  demand  were  favorable. 

About  two  years  ago  a  number  of  gentlemen  who 
were  large  holders  of  timber  lands  made  an  effort  to 
consolidate  practically  all  of  the  larger  yellow  pine 
lioldings  of  the  South  into  a  single  timber  company, 
contemplating  the  cutting  and  sale  of  timber  to  lumber 
manufacturers  under  the  application  of  forestry.  That 
is,  that  the  amount  of  timber  in  one  year  should  not 
exceed  the  amount  produced,  except  where  the  land 
would  produce  greater  returns  as  agriculture,  when 
it  would  naturally  be  cut  clear.  If  this  plan  could 
have  been  put  into  operation,  the  increased  cost  of 
transporting  the  mature  timber  over  larger  areas  made 
necessary  by  the  application  of  forestry,  would  have 
been  more  than  equalized  by  the  advance  in  the  value 
of  stumpage,  on  account  of  the  smaller  amount  imme- 
diately available. 

It  was  found,  however,  that  the  general  public,  as 
well  as  many  timber  owners,  did  not  understand 
forestry  sufficiently  well  to  look  favorably  upon  an 
investment  of  either  capital  or  timber  on  the  scale 
proposed. 

A  meeting  such  as  this  gives  promise  that  the  for- 
ester will  increase  his  knowledge  of  economic  problems 
before  the  manufacturer,  and  that  investors  and  hold- 
ers of  timber  learn  that  the  forester  does  not  desire 
to  place  obstacles  in  the  way  of  profitably  converting 
the  forests  into  lumber,  but  by  forestry  to  protect  them 
from  fire,  disease,  and  useless  waste,  thus  making 
forest  investments  safe  and  permanent. 

That  forestry  is  practicable  upon  large  timber  hold- 
ings, either  in  private  or  Government  ownership,  is 
unquestioned  by  all  who  have  given  the  matter  careful 


102  Proceedings  of  the 

thought.  Lumbermen  who  have  studied  the  timber 
situation  reahze  that  in  the  future,  as  in  the  past,  the 
largest  returns  will  not  be  obtained  through  their 
manufacturing  plants  only.  The  great  fortunes  that 
have  been  made  in  the  lumber  business  have  been  ac- 
quired by  the  owners  of  large  bodies  of  timber  lands, 
and  this  condition  will  continue.  For  the  purpose 
of  illustration,  let  us  consider  the  supply  of  timber 
as  represented  by  one  circle,  and  the  annual  consump- 
tion by  another  circle.  The  circle  representing  con- 
sumption is  annually  increasing,  as  the  result  not 
only  of  increase  in  population  but  of  a  material 
increase  in  per  capita  consumption  of  wood. 
On  the  other  hand  the  circle  representing  supply  is 
annually  decreasing,  and  unless  the  forests  arc  reserved 
for  use,  instead  of  being  sacrificed  for  the  sake  of  the 
cost  of  immediate  production  of  lumber,  the  circle  of 
supply,  as  far  as  it  can  be  considered  a  commercial 
factor,  must  disappear.  If  this  be  true,  all  Govern- 
ment timber  lands  should  be  withdrawn  from  sale  or 
entry  and  placed  under  conservative  forest  manage- 
ment, all  mature  timber  being  for  sale,  provided  proper 
protection  is  given  the  young  timber.  In  this  way,  at 
least,  a  partial  supply  of  timber  for  future  generations 
can  be  perpetuated. 


R 


THE  CHANGED  ATTITUDE  OF  LUMBER- 
MEN TOWARD  FORESTRY      - 

BY 

J.  E.  DEFEBAUGH 

Editor  American  Lumberman 

ECALLING  the  history  of  the  lumber  industry  of 
America  and  of  forestry  in  this  country,  we  are 
filled  with  mingled  emotions  of  pleasure  and  surprise  as 
we  attend  the  sessions  of  this  Congress  and  behold  the 
character  and  diversity  of  this  assembly.  It  reminds 
me  of  the  story  told  by  Dr.  Henry  Van  Dyke  of  the 
little  girl  who  asked  her  father : 

"Papa,  where  were  you  born?" 
"In  Boston,  my  dear,"  he  answered. 
"And  where  was  mamma  born?" 
"In  San  Francisco,  my  dear." 
"And  where  was  I  born?" 
"In  Philadelphia,  my  dear." 

"Well,"  said  the  little  one,  "isn't  it  funny  how  we 
three  people  ever  got  together!" 

There  are  present,  through  the  most  altruistic  mo- 
tives, not  only  men  to  whom  forestry  is  a  science  and 
an  occupation,  but  men  whose  business  is  the  cutting 
of  the  forest,  and  men  who  are  neither  lumbermen  nor 
professional  foresters,  but  who  occupy  high  places  in 
our  national  life  and  are  interested  in  the  forestry 
movement  because  it  is  for  the  national  good. 

There  is  to  participate  in  the  proceedings  of  this 
convention  the  most  distinguished  forester  in  the  nation 


I04  Proceedings  of  the 

and  consequently  the  most  distinguished  forester  in  the 
world — the  President  of  the  United  States. 

To  him  who  in  the  love  of  nature  holds 
Communion  with  her  visible  forms,  she  speaks 
A  various  language — 

and  Theodore  Roosevelt  has  held  communion  with 
nature  possibly  more  extensively  and  certainly  more 
intensively  than  any  of  the  rest  of  us  here.  He  has 
learned  to  know  nature,  and  consequently  the  forests, 
from  their  romantic  and  practical  sides,  and  he  has 
demonstrated  his  practical  sympathy  with  the  forestry 
movement  as  has  no  other  in  this  country. 

Another  high  forester,  who  has  been  an  efficient 
stimulus  to  forestry  and  along  effective  lines,  is  the 
President  of  the  American  Forestry  Association,  the 
Secretary  of  Agriculture,  James  Wilson.  Of  him 
Senator  Mark  Hanna,  the  sincerely  lamented  states- 
man from  the  Buckeye  State,  said  to  a  great  audience 
of  lumbermen  assembled  in  this  city  two  years  ago  : 

"  'Uncle  Jimmy'  knows  his  business  and  he  has 
taught  the  people  of  this  country  on  the  farm,  in  the 
forests  and  in  the  mines — all  of  the  great  productive 
interests  of  the  United  States — more  in  the  five  or  six 
years  he  has  been  at  the  head  of  that  department  than 
all  the  rest  of  the  scores  of  the  departments  put 
together.  He  is  the  right  man  in  the  right  place. 
And  it  makes  no  difference  what  changes  may  come 
in  the  political  atmosphere  here,  we  will  keep  him  here 
if  we  have  to  run  him  on  a  separate  ticket." 

Another  forester  among  us,  of  national  reputation, 
and  a  fame  peculiarly  his  own  because  his  work  has 
been  and  is  largely  altruistic,  has  given  a  large  per- 
centage of  the  present  impetus  to  forest  work — Gifford 


American  Forkst  Congress  105 

Pinchot,  the  chief  forester  of  the  Government.  A 
man  of  culture,  he  has  decided  to  make  his  Hfe  work 
one  for  which  not  only  the  present  but  future  genera- 
tions will  "rise  up  to  call  him  blessed." 

All  within  sound  of  my  voice,  therefore,  are  for- 
esters; and  so  I  feel  some  confidence  in  a  kindly 
reception  of  this  effort.  The  subject  has  been  a  cause 
for  comment,  not  only  in  the  lumber  trade  but  among 
all  interested  in  forestry:  "The  Changed  Attitude  of 
Lumbermen  Toward  Forestry." 

I  think,  however,  it  is  hardly  adequate  to  assume 
that  only  the  lumberman's  position  has  changed ;  the 
change  has  been  as  great,  or  greater,  in  the  conditions 
surrounding  us,  and  in  the  attitude  and  policies  of 
specialists  in  forestry. 

No  reasonable  man  would  be  disposed  to  denounce 
the  early  settlers  of  the  timbered  portions  of  North 
America  for  cutting  away  the  forests.  Cleared  land 
was  necessary  for  the  growing  of  food  products  which 
were  essential  to  the  sustenance  of  life.  A  man  with 
a  family,  by  a  courageous  enterprise  or  by  the  force  of 
circumstances  projected  into  the  wilderness,  would  not 
hesitate  to  cut  down  and  clear  off  the  tree  growth  as 
rapidly  as  his  strength  permitted.  Self-preservation 
is  the  first  law  of  nature,  and  the  pioneers  in  our  forest 
areas  had  to  clear  the  land  or  starve.  Moreover,  in 
the  early  period  of  settlement  he  was  considered  the 
greatest  benefactor  to  the  state  and  to  the  community 
in  which  he  lived  who  slashed  down  the  most  forest 
and  cleared  the  land  most  rapidly  and  thoroughly. 

At  first  there  was  no  thought  of  the  future  value  of 
timber;  at  the  moment  it  was  a  cumberer  of  the 
ground,  like  ledges  of  rock  and  the  loose  stones  of  the 
glacial  drift.  It  was  thought  to  be  a  fortunate  possi- 
bility that  a  portion  of  the  cumbersome  forest  growth, 


to6  Proce:e:dings  op  thk 

that  must  be  cleared  from  the  land  anyway  to  make 
room  for  towns,  villages,  highways,  and  farms,  could 
be  utilized.  In  the  process  of  clearing  farms,  if  any  of 
the  timber  could  be  sold  and  shipped  to  the  European 
and  seaboard  markets  or  used  for  local  improvements 
it  was  a  clear  gain,  profit  accruing  from  a  gratuitous 
resource,  like  game  from  the  woods  or  fish  from  the 
waters.  There  was  no  thought  that  the  trees  would 
in  time  acquire  a  distinct  and  appreciable  value  simply 
because  they  had  become  scarce. 

Another  reason  why  the  early  lumberman  from  his 
own  viewpoint  saw  no  particular  value  in  standing 
timber  was  that  he  found  it  hard  work  to  make  a  profit 
when  he  had  an  unlimited  privilege  to  cut  all  the 
timber  in  sight.  In  the  beginning  of  operations  in  the 
three  northwestern  white  pine  states — from  1830  to 
about  1845 — ^11  the  mill  operators  had  to  do  to  secure 
logs  for  sawing  was  to  obtain  from  the  Indians  the 
privilege  to  cut  timber,  which  permits  were  usually 
sanctioned  by  the  Government.  A  few  goods  given 
to  the  Indians  were  sufficient  to  secure  all  the  logs 
necessary  to  supply  any  of  the  mills  of  that  day.  Tim- 
ber that  would  run  60  per  cent  uppers  could  be  secured 
in  exchange  for  whiskey  that  would  run  90  per  cent 
adulteration. 

The  early  operators  penetrated  the  deep  woods  far 
from  settlement,  going  along  the  lake  shore  and  up  the 
rivers  100  or  200  miles  from  any  considerable  base  of 
supplies,  and  after  great  hardship  and  excessive  labor, 
and  often  loss  by  flood  and  fire,  managed  to  saw  a 
little  lumber  in  the  primitive  saw  mills  of  that  day  and 
raft  it  out  to  the  market.  It  goes  without  saying  that 
these  early  operators  had  no  thought  for  the  preserva- 
tion of  the  forests.  They  took  the  nearest  and  best 
trees  for  their  purpose,  as  they  needs  must  if  they  were 
to  make  any  profit  in  their  enterprise. 


Ame:rican  Forest  Congress  107 

After  the  pine  lands  had  been  surveyed  and  settle- 
ment had  developed  a  general  demand  for  lumber,  pine 
holdings  began  to  have  a  specific  value— but  at  first  it 
was  a  acreage  price  at  Government  figures.  It  was 
cheap  property  and  so  esteemed.  The  main  thing  with 
the  lumberman  was  the  expense  involved  in  building 
mills,  in^  cleaning  out  streams  for  the  floating  logs, 
putting  in  camps,  and  all  else  that  was  involved  in 
logging,  milling,  and  marketing. 

As  to  pine  stumpage,  the  mill  operators  from  1850 
to  1880  thought  there  was  no  limit  to  it.  Its  possible 
exhaustion  was  considered  so  far  in  the  future  as  to 
be  a  negligible  quantity  in  the  equation.  The  location 
of  a  mill  at  an  advantageous  site  for  floating  logs 
down  to  it  and  for  shipping  lumber  when  produced 
was  the  prime  consideration.  The  investment  was  in 
these  things;  the  value  of  the  raw  material  on  the 
stump  was  the  minor  factor  in  the  problem. 

And  yet  with  stumpage  worth  but  $1.25  an  acre 
lumbermen  found  it  difficult  to  make  profit  in  their 
business  from  1850  to  1857,  and,  in  the  latter  disastrous 
year  and  the  several  years  following,  hundreds  of  them 
in  Michigan,  Wisconsin,  and  along  the  Mississippi 
River  went  to  the  financial  wall.  After  the  civil  war 
there  was  a  revival,  with  some  few  successes  and  some 
slight  increase  in  timber  values.  In  1873  came  another 
financial  revolution  and  more  depression  in  the  lumber 
business,  accompanied  by  many  bankruptcies. 

Not  until  1879-80  did  the  northern  pine  business 
reach  a  plane  of  commercial  activity  where  stumpage 
values  began  to  be  considered.  At  that  time  the  pine 
owners  who  had  hung  on  to  their  stumpage  despite 
hard  times,  low  prices,  and  meager  profits  in  lumber 
production  began  to  realize  that  they  possessed  Vv^ealth 
in  their  pine  trees.     Then  standing  pine  began  to  be 


io8  Prockkdings  o^  the: 

closely  estimated  and  the  value  of  an  acre  of  land  was 
determined  by  the  number  of  thousands  of  feet  of  logs 
that  could  be  cut  from  it.  But,  as  in  nearly  all  cases 
where  their  is  an  advance  of  stumpage  values,  there 
was  not  a  commensurate  rise  in  the  value  of  sawed 
product.  Operators  with  large  holdings  of  standing 
timber  were  made  rich  by  the  advancement  in  the 
value  of  their  stumpage,  while  they  found  it  necessary 
to  pursue  the  strictest  business  methods  and  use  the 
most  economical  appliances  in  order  to  produce  lumber 
at  a  profit  on  the  basis  of  stumpage  values.  Conse- 
quently there  followed  the  utmost  utilization  of  the 
pine  on  a  given  area  of  land.  As  the  years  passed 
standing  pine  continued  to  advance  in  price  in  greater 
ratio  than  sawed  product,  and  the  effort  to  convert 
every  possible  tree  into  salable  lumber  increased.  A 
great  change  was  induced,  a  change  from  the  old 
method  of  cutting  all  the  larger  trees  and  those  nearest 
the  water,  as  was  done  in  the  '40s  and  '50s,  to  the 
latter-day  practice  of  scraping  the  land  of  every  tree 
that  would  produce  mechantable  lumber,  down  to  those 
that  would  turn  out  only  a  4x4,  with  possibly  bark  on 
one  or  more  corners  of  the  piece.  Sometimes  have 
been  cut  in  this  way  trees  whose  product  would  not 
pay  the  saw  bill.  Yet  there  was  produced  from  them 
a  product  useful  to  the  community  at  large  which  from 
the  lumberman's  point  of  view  would  have  been  wasted 
had  they  been  left  in  the  woods,  and  his  natural  desire 
for  thrift  and  economy  led  him  beyond  the  point  where 
his  operations  would  result  in  profit  to  himself. 

The  development  of  railroad  logging  has  also  had 
its  notable  influence  in  this  direction.  The  expense  of 
building  logging  railroads  into  the  timber  is  so  great 
that  only  comparatively  solid  bodies  of  timber  will 
carry  it.     When  the  merchantable  timber  is  taken  out 


Ame:rican  Forest  Congress  109 

the  road  is  also  taken  up  and  moved  elsewhere ;  and  it 
is  desirable  that  before  this  is  done  the  logging  shall  be 
thoroughly  completed.  Under  such  conditions  it  often 
is  very  unlikely  that  even  if  the  smaller  trees  be  left 
upon  the  tract  there  will  ever  again  be  a  sufficient  stand 
of  timber  to  justify  the  rebuilding  of  the  logging  road. 

The  point  aimed  at  in  this  cursory  review  of  the 
evolution  of  the  pine  lumber  industry  is  to  show  that 
the  lumbermen  all  along  pursued  a  strenuous  course  in 
their  endeavor  to  make  a  profit  in  their  business.  In 
their  enterprise  they  had  to  be  pioneers  in  a  vast  wil- 
derness; they  had  to  cover  wide  extents  of  territory 
in  carrying  out  their  plans;  they  were  forced  to  clear 
out  streams,  build  dams,  put  in  boomiS,  erect  mills,  and 
latterly  construct  railroads,  build  and  purchase  vessels, 
equip  lines  of  barges,  and  establish  docks — all  of 
which  required  capital  and  necessitated  great  economy, 
business  acumen,  and  thoroughness  in  order  to  secure 
profit  in  operation.  It  was  a  business  that  required 
much  money  and  credit  and  considerable  time  before 
any  profitable  results  could  accrue.  Is  it  any  wonder, 
then,  that  the  lumbermen  looked  upon  their  stumpage, 
or  any  stumpage,  as  merely  raw  material  from  which, 
if  conditions  were  favorable,  they  could  extract  a 
money  profit? 

Fifty  years  ago  in  this  country  a  general  application 
of  forestry  methods  would  have  been  absurd.  There 
were  some  cases  where  forests  in  particular  places 
should  have  been  preserved,  but  up  to  that  time  and 
even  later  the  forest  as  a  whole  was  an  encumbrance. 
In  the  eastern  part  of  the  United  States,  which  had  the 
people,  not  only  the  lumberman  but  the  settler  also  was 
engaged  in  removing  the  forest,  with  the  difference, 
however,  that  the  settler  was  making  little  or  no  use 
of  it,  but  merely  destroying  it  to  get  it  out  of  his  way. 


ilO  PROCEKDINGS    0^    TH^ 

Modern  civilization  cannot  exist  in  the  shade  nor 
Hve  on  mast.  The  forests  had  to  be  cleared  away  in 
order  to  give  place  for  growing  corn  and  wheat.  So 
there  was  the  peculiar  combination  of  dependence  upon 
the  forests  for  fuel  and  building  supplies  and  at  the 
same  time  the  obligation  to  remove  them  to  make  room 
for  other  crops.  The  lumberman,  therefore,  was  not 
a  devastator,  but  performed  a  useful  function  in  the 
community  at  a  profit  to  himself  by  removing  that 
which  had,  as  it  stood,  little  or  no  value.  The  public 
cannot  with  justice  condemn  the  lumberman  for  chop- 
ping down  the  trees  when  it  recalls  the  conspicuous 
example  set  by  the  Father  of  his  Country. 

Furthermore,  until  recent  years  the  Government, 
which  owned  the  forests  in  the  unused  areas  of  the 
United  States,  placed  no  special  value  on  them.  It 
invited  acquisition  by  any  one,  including  the  lumber- 
man ;  consequently  the  lumbermen  came  into  possession 
of  much  of  the  timbered  area  and  practically  all  the 
pine,  hemlock,  and  similar  woods  which  grow  in  solid 
forests.  There  was  thus  set  up  a  property  interest 
which  had  to  be  treated  like  any  other  private  interest. 
Many  had  their  fortunes  invested  in  timber  and  the 
only  way  in  which  they  could  realize  on  the  investment 
was  by  manufacture. 

It  is  true  that  with  recent  years  standing  timber  has 
come  into  greater  prominence  as  an  opportunity  for 
investment,  and  there  are  now  large  holdings  in  the 
hands  of  capitalists  who  have  never  owned  nor 
operated  a  saw  mill  and  perhaps  never  expect  to  do 
so.  Such  owners  hold  their  timber  for  an  enhancement 
of  values  as  would  an  investor  in  real  estate,  but  they 
expect  to  hold  only  so  long  as  it  seems  more  profitable 
to  hold  than  to  sell.  They  are  not  holding  their  timber 
for  posterity,  but  only  for  the  best  marketing  oppor- 


American  Forest  Congress  hi 

tunity.  The  same  question  of  present  versus  future 
markets  confronts  the  timber  owner  who  is  also  a 
manufacturer,  modified  somewhat  by  the  incHnation  to 
keep  the  mill  in  operation.  It  determines  somewhat 
the  capacity  of  the  mill  to  be  built  upon  a  given  site 
with  a  known  amount  of  tributary  timber,  and  after 
it  is  built  determines  whether  the  output  shall  be 
restricted  or  pushed  to  the  limit  according  to  the  cur- 
rent market  demands.  That  is  the  point  of  view  of 
any  other  owner  of  pine  timber  or  of  any  other  sort 
of  timber  that  has  tangible  value.  The  tree  represents 
a  definite  asset  to  be  converted  at  the  earliest  favorable 
opportunity,  and  without  reference  to  any  possible 
interest  that  posterity  might  have  in  its  being  per- 
mitted to  remain  on  the  stump. 

The  increase  in  value  of  all  timber  holdings  within 
recent  years  makes  advocacy  of  forest  preservation, 
as  far  as  merchantable  timber  is  concerned,  properly 
a  plea  for  so  managing  the  forest  as  to  get  the  greatest 
amount  of  commercial  product  from  it  at  the  present 
time  without  impairing  any  more  than  necessary  its 
productive  capacity  for  the  future.  The  holder  of  a 
timber  estate  is  actuated  by  exactly  the  same  consid- 
erations as  the  holder  of  other  property — he  wishes  it 
to  produce  more  money  than  he  has  put  in.  If  he  can 
be  convinced  that  the  timber  is  such  that  its  growth 
will  give  him  greater  earnings  on  his  investment  than 
its  cutting  at  the  present  time  he  may  be  induced  to 
hold  it ;  but  he  is  not  likely  to  let  his  forest  stand  solely 
for  the  benefit  of  posterity,  or  unless  it  is  practically 
shown  that  this  procedure  will  lead  to  enhancement  in 
the  value  of  his  estate.  In  so  far,  however,  as  the 
timber  is  already  matured  the  time  of  its  harvest  is 
already  at  hand.  The  owner,  of  course,  desires  to 
harvest   it   in   the   most   economical   manner;   and   if 


112  Proce:edings  of  the: 

timber  owners  and  lumbermen  can  be  instructed  in  this 
particular  and  induced  to  practice  timber  management 
in  accordance  with  the  plan  advocated  by  trained  for- 
esters much  will  be  accomplished  in  the  direction  of 
prolonging  existing  timber  supplies.  But  it  should 
be  admitted  by  everybody  that  the  money  value  of 
standing  timber  will  inevitably  determine  the  disposi- 
tion of  it,  except  where  it  has  been  reserved  by  the 
Government. 

If  there  has  been  any  tardiness  in  recognizing  the 
necessity  for  forest  regulation  and  reforestation  it 
should  be  understood  that  the  forestry  idea  has  been 
slow  in  gaining  ground  even  with  a  disinterested  gen- 
eral public,  a  fact  chargeable  neither  to  the  lumbermen 
nor  to  the  forestry  advocates. 

We  have  heard  much  of  the  "wasteful  methods"  of 
the  lumbermen,  but  in  the  early  days  of  lumbering 
there  was  no  waste  that  was  not  necessary,  or,  rather, 
no  waste  that  was  not  more  economical  than  to  save. 
No  property  owner  can  afford  to  spend  dollars  when 
he  will  receive  only  cents  in  return.  Under  the  condi- 
tions, the  waste  in  tree  tops,  tall  stumps,  thick  slabs, 
edgings,  and  trimmings  and  much  sawdust  was,  from 
a  financial  standpoint,  no  waste  at  all.  The  lumbermen 
did  with  their  property  only  what  would  yield  the  best 
returns. 

To  an  industry  established  on  such  a  basis  there 
came  the  advocate  of  forest  preservation.  Originally 
— during  the  early  agitation  of  the  subject  and  up  to 
within  fifteen  or  twenty  years — forestry  advocates 
were  manly  of  two  classes,  either  sentimentalists  or 
technicists ;  the  latter  being  trained  in  the  forest  meth- 
ods of  the  old  European  countries  where  conditions 
were  entirely  different  from  those  that  obtained  in 
the  United  States.  The  former  scolded  or  tearfully 
implored,  while  the  latter  proposed  the  impossible. 


American  Forkst  Congress  113 

Listening  to  the  abuse  that  was  showered  upon 
them ;  to  the  seemingly  impracticable  theories ;  to  the 
petitions  which,  if  granted,  would  have  wiped  out  their 
properties,  is  it  any  wonder  that  lumbermen  were  at 
first  indifferent  or  even  were  aroused  to  hostility? 
Some  of  them  were  incensed,  others  threatening,  and 
others  were  amused  by  unjust  criticism. 

Beware  the  wicked  lumberman, 
That  wasteful,  hasteful  artisan. 
But  while  the  logger  you  discuss 
A  glance  take  at  the  rest  of  us — 
The  camper  with  his  cheery  blaze 
That  blows  around  in  many  ways; 
The  hunting  man  with  pillar  bright 
Of  smoke  by  day  and  fire  by  night; 
The  farmer  with  his  log  heap  high, 
His  stump-fire  when  the  weather's  dry, 
His  fancy,  solid  walnut  fence — 
He  worries  not  about  expense. 
Oh,  when  the  logger  you  condemn 
Consider  well  the  rest  of  them. 
Consider  the  farmer  of  the  field 
Who  loves  the  flaming  torch  to  wield; 
The  campers  toil  not,  neither  spin. 
Yet  pretty  blazes  they  begin — 
Nor  Solomon,  in  all  his  ease. 
Burned  money  up  like  one  of  these ! 

However,  a  change  in  conditions  was  going  on.  Up 
to  the  point  where  the  natural  growth  of  the  forest 
would  more  than  take  care  of  the  needs  of  a  community 
the  surplus  was  valueless  and  would  better  be  disposed 
of  in  some  manner  than  preserved  at  any  material  cost. 
But  when  we  reached  the  stage  where  the  forests  were 


114  Proceedings  of  the 

reduced  to  the  point  where  the  natural  annual  increase 
would  not  more  than  take  care  of  the  present  and 
prospective  needs  of  the  country,  then  values  advanced 
and  the  lumbermen  have  come  to  see  some  practicality 
in  the  proposition  that  methods  of  forest  preservation 
should  be  introduced. 

Like  all  methods  that  effect  great  changes  in  society 
or  economics,  the  forestry  idea  in  the  United  States 
has  been  an  evolution.  It  must  be  confessed  that 
foresters  of  the  present  day  discard  some  theories 
that  were  considered  important  by  American  forestry 
experts  of  thirty  years  ago. 

There's  that  dear  old  rainfall  theory  once  held  in  such 

esteem 
By  which  a  dampness  was  produced  by  such  a  simple 

scheme. 
As  Aaron  smote  the  rock  of  old  and  found  a  water 

power 
So  might  we  plant  a  tamarack  and  start  a  summer 

shower. 
Behold  the  forester  of  old,  the  optimistic  fellah  — 
A  planting  trowel  in  one  hand,  in  the  other  an  umbrella. 

Our  duty  is  not  particularly  to  refrain  from  chop- 
ping down  trees  ripe  for  the  ax  ,but  to  be  active  in 
replacing  them.  Coincident  with  this  duty  is  that  of 
cutting  only  mature  timber,  where  that  is  possible, 
and  of  guarding  timber  tracts  from  fires  and  other 
destructive  agencies  that  often  are  due  to  carelessness. 

There  is  nothing  truer  than  the  old  saying  that  you 
cannot  eat  your  cake  and  have  it,  yet  it  never  restrained 
very  many  people  from  eating  the  cake,  for  the  cake 
must  be  eaten  to  be  enjoyed.     The  thing  to  do  is  not 


American  F'orest  Congress  115 

to  weep  over  the  cake,  after  it  has  disappeared,  but  to 
get  out  the  recipe  book  and  make  another. 

No  one  will  question  the  soundness  of  the  lumber- 
man's belief  that  his  method  gets  the  greatest  use  out 
of  the  tree.  Though  the  old  theory  is  now  seriously 
questioned  if  the  standing  tree  encourages  the  summer 
shower,  the  sawed  shingle  is  necessary  to  protect  the 
head  of  the  man  from  the  thunder  storm.  Nothing  in 
the  world  can  suffer  a  better  fate  than  utilization. 
When  the  tomato  was  the  ruddy  "love  apple"  of  our 
youth  it  was  a  beautiful  object,  but  who  will  deny  the 
more  potent  attraction  of  the  tomato  stew?  We  are 
compelled  to  admit  that  the  mature  tree  must  come 
down.  Once  down,  that  particular  tree  is  eliminated. 
I  am  reminded  of  the  question  asked  of  the  Swiss 
guide  by  the  tourist.  He  was  gazing  over  the  edge  of 
the  precipice  and  remarked  to  the  guide:  "I  suppose 
people  often  fall  from  here?"  ''No,"  replied  the  guide, 
"only  once."  A  tree  is  felled  but  once  and  the  next 
and  only  thing  is  to  replace  it  where  that  is  practicable. 

That  there  has  been  a  change  of  heart  within  recent 
years  on  the  part  of  American  lumbermen  toward  the 
forestry  idea  there  can  be  no  doubt.  If  you  should 
ask  me  to  what  I  ascribe  this  sentiment  I  would  say 
that  the  most  important  step  forward  was  made  by  the 
disciples  of  forestry  when  they  ceased  to  preach  the 
doctrine  of  indirect  and  deferred  benefits  and  began  to 
demonstrate  that  direct  benefits  could  be  made  to  result 
from  forestry  as  a  science  and  as  a  practice.  Proper 
forestry  regulations  and  successful  reforestation  can 
never  be  brought  about  except  by  a  demonstration  of 
direct  results.  All  that  has  been  said  about  the  influ- 
ence of  forests  on  climatic  conditions,  on  watersheds, 
bird  life,  etc.,  may  be,  much  of  it  is,  absolutely  true, 
but  the  great  and  vital  question  that  appeals  to  the 


ii6  Proceedings  oi^  the 

American  lumberman  is:  ''How  can  I  cut  my  timber 
now  and  at  the  same  time  grow  a  new  timber  crop  for 
future  supply?" 

Inasmuch  as  my  intereest  in  the  forestry  movement 
began  contemporaneously  with  my  identity  with  the 
lumber  press,  many  reminiscences  occur  to  me  in  con- 
nection with  the  subject  which  time  does  not  permit 
me  to  indulge  in ;  but  I  do  not  know  that  I  could  better 
illustrate  the  progress  which  has  been  made  during  the 
last  decade  than  by  giving  a  few  brief  excerpts  from 
an  address  which  I  made  upon  this  subject  during  the 
proceedings  of  a  forestry  congress  at  Chicago  in  the 
summer  of  1893,  arranged  by  Hon.  W.  I.  Buchanan, 
chief  of  the  Forestry  Department  of  the  World's 
Columbian  Exposition.  Regarding  the  attitude  of  the 
lumberman  at  the  time,  I  said : 

'*He  is  as  heartily  in  accord  with  all  movements 
looking  toward  the  welfare  of  the  coming  generation 
as  any  one  can  be  who  "'  '^  *  has  to  make  his 
living  in  this.  "^  '^  '■'  Talk  to  him  as  a  citizen  or 
a  philanthropist  and  you  at  once  gain  cordial  attention 
and  arouse  his  interest  in  a  way,  which  as  far  as  the 
exigencies  of  his  business  will  permit,  will  be  reflected 
by  his  actions,  but  as  a  lumberman  he  is  face  to  face 
with  the  hard  actualities  of  life.  He  sees  the  practical 
side  perhaps  all  too  plainly,  but  that  practical  side 
cannot  be  ignored.  The  present  is  an  overpowering 
fact,  while  the  future  has  but  a  shadowy  influence." 

In  that  address  I  referred  to  the  then  almost  irre- 
sistible incentives  to  the  employment  of  lumbering 
methods  wasteful  from  the  standpoint  of  the  forester 
but  inevitable  in  the  stress  of  competition,  and  admitted 
our  absolute  dependence  for  forestry  results  upon 
governmental  control.     Upon  this  I  said  in  part: 

"The  lumberman  will  have  no  objections  to  govern- 


American  Forkst  Congress  117 

mental  regulations  which  shall  require  him  to  clear  of 
the  debris  remaining  therefrom  the  land  on  which  he 
conducts  his  logging  operations;  but  he  would  insist 
that  such  regulations  shall  be  "^  "^  *  applied 
impartially  to  all  sections,  as  otherwise  an  artificial 
inequality  would  be  brought  about.  State  regulations 
will  hardly  answer,  for  stringent  enforcement  of  rules 
in  Wisconsin  may  put  the  operator  in  that  state  out  of 
competition  with  his  competitor  in  Minnesota  or  Mich- 
igan,     'i'      >!=      * 

*'This  the  Government  can  do :  It  can  refuse  to  sell 
or  give  up  control  of  timber  standing  on  Government 
land.  It  can  perhaps,  even  now,  gain  some  small 
revenue  from  allowing  timber  to  be  cut  under  proper 
restrictions,  for  which  a  royalty  shall  be  paid.  *  *  * 
It  is  possible  that  the  Government  might  purchase 
standing  timber  so  located  that  its  preservation  might 
have  some  marked  effect  on  the  watersheds  and  natural 
reservoirs  of  the  country,  but  it  is  doubtful  if  even  this 
rich  nation  could  do  much  in  this  direction." 

What  the  Federal  Government  has  accomplished 
since  that  time  in  the  establishment  of  forest  reserves 
and  in  arranging  for  the  lumbering  of  the  mature 
timber  from  certain  of  them  under  forestry  regulations 
is  a  matter  of  history.  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  thus 
far  no  attempt  has  seemed  feasible  to  compel  the  clean- 
ing up  of  forest  debris  in  lumbering  operations  upon 
private  holdings.  Such  a  law  universally  enforced 
would  effect  a  decreased  loss  through  forest  fires  which 
would  more  than  pay  the  increased  cost  of  operation. 

Regarding  the  application  of  forestry  methods  to 
lumbering  I  said  at  that  time: 

"What  is  wanted  is  a  commercial  conservation  of 
the  forests,  but  this  involves  conditions  so  different 
from  those  now  prevailing  that  it  is  difficult  to  see 

E 


ii8  Proce^e:dings  of  the: 

how  any  immediate  headway  can  be  made.  But  agita- 
tion for  anything  theoretically  desirable  is  a  good 
thing,  for  the  dream  of  one  generation  is  the  reality 
of  the  next.  Conditions  are  shifting  fast  in  this  new 
country  of  ours  and  the  next  fifty  years  are  likely  to 
show  great  changes  in  fundamental  things. 

"The  time  is  comparatively  near  at  hand  when  the 
virgin  wealth  will  all  be  exhausted  or  closed  to  the 
pioneer,  and  when  the  conservator  must  take  the  place 
of  the  developer  and  promoter.  It  is  therefore  not  too 
soon  to  begin  the  study  of  this  important  subject  of 
forestry,  as  perhaps  before  we  are  aware  of  it  the 
conditions  may  have  so  changed  that  what  now  has  its 
existence  only  in  theory  may  have  been  materialized 
into  concrete  form." 

During  the  eleven  years  that  have  passed  since  that 
time  the  cause  of  forestry  has  made  great  headway 
under  the  intelligent  direction  of  the  Bureau  of  For- 
estry, although  that  bureau  has  been  until  very  recently 
handicapped  by  a  division  of  its  natural  duties  between 
three  branches  of  government  lacking  intelligent  cen- 
tralized control.  It  has,  however,  brought  the  practical 
and  the  theoretical  into  more  harmonious  relations 
with  each  other  and  has  promoted  a  broader  and  deeper 
understanding  of  all  the  elements  which  enter  into  the 
problem  and  has  prepared  all  of  those  who  are  inter- 
ested in  the  subject  for  effective  co-operation.  What 
has  been  accomplished  is  much ;  it  is  hardly  more  than 
preliminary  and  preparatory  for  the  actual  work  of  the 
next  decade. 

I  want  to  call  your  attention  to  the  fact  that  the 
inhabitants  of  great  timber  states  have  not  been 
unmindful  of  this  question.  They  have  viewed  with 
concern  the  rapid  disappearance  of  their  woods,  and 
have  to  a  large  degree  come  to  a  realization  of  the 


American  Forest  Congress  119 

serious  meaning  of  the  annihilation  of  their  forests. 
Neither  are  the  men  who  are  engaged  in  the  lumber 
industry  unmindful  of  the  seriousness  of  the  situation. 
Within  a  few  years  there  has  been  a  marked  change 
among   lumber  operators   in   this   respect.     This   has 
come  about  largely  because  of  the  increased  wealth 
and  intelligence  of  the  men  who  now  control  a  large 
percentage  of  the  merchantable  timber  of  the  country. 
Lumbermen   in   the   old   days   struggled   for   a   mere 
existence ;  in  these  modern  times  many  of  them  have 
emerged  from  the  status  of  the  pioneer  to  that  of  the 
well-to-do  business  man;  many  are  legislators,  nearly 
all  are  men  of  affairs  in  other  lines  than  lumber,  and 
in  point  of  intelligence  and  broadness  of  view  they 
rank  with  any  other  class  of  people  in  the  country.     It 
is   impossible  that   such  men   should   not   realize  the 
importance  and  benefit  expressed  in  the  term   ''for- 
estry.''    They  are  in  favor  of  forest  reserves,  properly 
administered,  in  certain  portions  of  the  country  where 
such  reserves  will  do  the  most  good.     They  indorse 
the  wisest  and  most  thorough  economy  in  the  manage- 
ment of  their  own  forest  holdings.     They  would  be 
glad  of  any  plan  for  economical  cutting  and  marketing 
that  would  be  an  improvement  on  present  methods. 
Indeed  the  tentative  efforts  that  have  been  made  in 
these  directions  by  owners  of  yellow  pine  stumpage  in 
the  south  prove  this.     These  owners  have  seen  how 
northern  pine  has  been  slaughtered  to  near  exhaustion 
and  wish  to  avoid  such  a  precipitate,  headlong  rush 
toward  the  end. 

The  fact  that  there  was  in  the  past  season  almost 
unanimous  cooperation  among  yellow  pine  manufac- 
turers, and  is  now  among  Pacific  coast  producers,  to 
curtail  the  mill  output  to  coincide  with  the  actual 
demand,  shows  that  there  has  been  an  awakening  to 
the  evil  of  sacrificing  timber  by   forcing  the   sawed 


I20  Procke:dings  o^  thk 

product  on  the  market  to  the  extent  of  breaking  down 
values  and  causing  unprofitable  prices.  It  is  true  a 
commercial  motive  enters  here  to  prevent  the  slaugh- 
tering of  the  forests,  but  the  result  is  the  same.  In 
one  sense  there  are  no  purely  unselfish  motives 
touching  economical  questions.  Even  the  disciples  of 
forestry  wish  to  preserve,  propagate,  and  perpetuate 
the  forests  because  the  results  would  be  of  economic 
benefit  to  mankind.  The  underlying  motive  is  the 
benefit  that  largely  can  be  expressed  in  dollars  and 
cents.  So  it  is  an  encouraging  sign  to  see  the  lumber- 
men awakening  to  the  fact  that  it  is  to  their  individual 
interests  and  to  the  interests  of  their  heirs  to  make  the 
most  of  their  timber  by  the  prolongation  of  cutting  and 
by  the  preservation  and  nurture  of  the  young  growth. 
In  this  awakening  they  are  in  direct  accord  with  the 
most  advanced  forester.  Moreover,  it  can  be  said  that 
the  present  spirit  of  the  lumbermen  in  respect  to  for- 
estry is  but  a  foretaste  of  what  it  will  be  as  the  years 
pass.  Forestry  is  a  cause  that  shall  grow  in  earnestness 
and  power  until  it  shall  have  become  the  undisputed 
dictum  as  applied  to  the  management  of  the  woodlands. 
In  saying  this  I  believe  that  I  voice  the  faith  that  is 
growing  in  the  minds  of  intelligent  lumbermen. 

Let  it  not  be  supposed  that  the  lumberman  is  any 
less  public-spirited,  any  less  a  sentimentalist,  than  he 
who  is  engaged  in  any  other  line  of  business.  He  sees 
as  much  beauty  in  a  noble  oak  or  elm  as  does  any  one. 
He  would  preserve  nature's  landmarks  if  he  did  not 
have  to  pay  all  the  cost  himself.  He  sees  the  value  of 
a  forest  cover  on  the  mountain  slopes  and  at  the  head 
of  the  waters  of  the  streams.  He  sees  all  these  things 
but  he  does  not  wish  to  pay,  himself,  the  entire  cost  or 
more  than  his  fair  share  of  the  cost.  His  attitude 
toward  forestry  has  changed  with  the  conditions,  and, 
while  there  may  be  exceptions,  the  average  operating 


American  Fore:st  Congress  121 

lumber  manufacturer  is  disposed  to  show  the  Govern- 
ment that  he  will  be  satisfied  (if  the  Government  will 
hold  and  care  for  the  forests)  with  buying  from  the 
Government  the  surplus  timber. 

I  could  paint  a  glowing  picture  of  the  great  interest 
that  has  been  aroused  in  forestry,  augmented  by  the 
individual  work  and  advice  of  the  Bureau  of  Forestry 
and  its  able  and  efficient  head,  Gifford  Pinchot ;  but  I 
surmise  that  you  want  a  true  picture  of  actual  opera- 
tions and  to  know  to  what  extent  they  conform  to 
accepted    forestry   practice.     I   wish   I    were   able   to 
report  that  90  per  cent  of  the  lumbermen  of  the  country 
cut  their  timber  in  accordance  with  rules  supplied  by 
Mr.  Pinchot  and  his  assistants.     It  would  be  gratifying 
to  me  to  say  that  75  per  cent  did  this ;  that  50  per  cent 
did!  that  25  per  cent  did.     Throughout  the  country 
from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific  from  the  Lakes  to  the 
Gulf,  I  find  but  a  few  isolated  cases,  and  most  of  these 
of  comparatively  recent  origin.    Why?     Because  here- 
tofore it  has  not  been  practicable.     While  this  is  true 
to-day  a  far  dififerent  story  can  and  doubtless  will  be 
told  five  or  ten  years  hence.     It  is  not  so  important 
that  two  or  three  lumbermen  have  been  induced  to 
make  a  start  as  that  all  are  being  educated  and  pre- 
pared for  a  general  movement  in  this  direction  in  the 
fullness  of  time.     During  the  last  few  years  the  Bureau 
of  Forestry  has  received  requests  from  several  lumber 
concerns  for  plans  for  cutting  their  timber  so  as  to 
insure  a  future  supply.     These  plans,  except  as  above 
stated,  have  not  yet  been  put  into  operation,  because 
conditions  have  not  been  such  as  to  warrant  it.     But 
the  opening  has  been  made.     Lumbermen  realize  that 
not  only  is  it  possible  to  carry  on  their  work  in  this 
manner  but  circumstances  are  so  adjusting  themselves 
that  it  is  imperative  that  it  shall  so  be  done. 
The  lumbermen  of  the  country  have  keen  interest 


122  Proceedings  of  the 

in  the  work  which  has  already  been  done  by  the  Bureau 
of  Forestry,  and  in  other  practical  features  of  its  work 
which  have  been  hardly  more  than  initiated.  They 
appreciate  the  bureau's  investigation  of  the  results  of 
grazing  in  forest  reserves,  the  prevention  and  extin- 
guishment of  forest  fires,  etc.  They  are,  and  will  be, 
quickly  responsive  to  any  practical  appeals  along 
forestry  lines.  They  particularly  appreciate  practical 
work,  as  that,  for  instance,  shown  by  the  bureau  at  the 
Louisiana  Purchase  Exposition  in  determining  the  rel- 
ative values  and  costs  of  different  methods  of  the 
preservation  of  timber  and  ties ;  its  exhaustive  and 
reliable  tests  of  the  strengths  of  various  commercial 
woods,  and  especially  its  eminently  practical  studies  of 
timber  diseases,  and  the  causes  of  and  remedies  for 
blue  stain,  one  of  the  most  prolific  sources  of  trouble  to 
lumbermen  during  the  past  thirty  years.  The  bulletin 
which  has  been  issued  upon  this  subject,  entitled  ''The 
Blue  Diseases  of  Western  Yellow  Pine,"  is  therefore 
of  eminently  practical  interest;  and,  indeed,  all  the 
bulletins  of  the  Bureau  of  Forestry  have  reached  a 
higher  level  of  practical  usefulness  than  ever  before  in 
its  history.  Full  many  a  publication  bearing  the  stamp 
of  the  Government  Printing  Office  is  sent  out  to  gush 
unread  and  waste  its  wisdom  on  the  musty  air  of  attic 
or  cellar,  but  the  additional  imprint  of  the  Bureau  of 
Forestry  is  a  most  infallible  prophecy  of  a  welcome 
from  an  interested  reader. 

Perhaps  in  this  connection  better  than  elsewhere  can 
be  illustrated  a  phase  of  the  change  in  attitude  of  lum- 
bermen and  those  in  allied  trades  toward  forestry 
methods.  Twenty  years,  even  a  decade  ago,  lumber- 
men had  a  nebulous  idea  of  governmental  forestry 
work.  Most  of  them  regarded  it  with  careless  toler- 
ance as  the  labor  of  irnpractical  experimentalists.  The 
reverse  was  the  condition  at  the  recent  world's  fair. 


Ame:rican  Fore:st  Congrkss  123 

The  exhibits  in  the  great  Forestry*  building,  and  its 
outlying  forest  planting  area,  attracted  widespread 
attention  and  proved  instructive  to  the  lay  observer; 
but  the  lumbermen  and  their  allies,  the  great  lumber 
consumers — railroad  lumber  consumers,  manufactur- 
ing consumers,  and  the  builders  of  great  structures — 
while  interested  in  these  things,  already  more  or  less 
familiar  to  them,  found  their  inspiration  and  instruction 
largely  in  the  experimental  station  in  the  Mining  Gulch 
conducted  by  the  Bureau  of  Forestry.  Here  were 
congregated  every  day  of  the  exposition  the  high 
officials  of  the  railroad  companies,  the  great  lumber 
consumers,  such  as  the  proprietors  of  agricultural 
implement  works,  hardwood  consumers  seeking  sub- 
stitutes for  woods  constantly  enhancing  in  price, 
manufacturers  and  users  of  the  soft  woods  searching 
for  enlightenment  on  methods  of  preservation  and 
other  economic  questions.  No  more  complete  tribute 
could  have  been  paid  to  the  work  of  the  bureau  and 
possibly  no  better  illustration  can  be  cited  of  the  change 
in  attitude  toward  practical  forestry : 

I  would  not  say  to  man :  ''Forbear 

To  use  the  things  God  putteth  here." 

I  would  not  say  to  man :  "Restrain 

Thy  wish  for  wealth,  thy  greed  for  gain." 

But  rather  would  I  say  to  man : 

"Use  its  fruition  of  a  plan ; 

Take  then  these  gifts  God  giveth  thee  — 

The  golden  fruit,  the  mighty  tree. 

All  pleasant  things  the  fields  produce  — 

And  render  them  to  proper  use; 

And,  in  return,  one  thing  I  ask. 

One  simple,  easy,  proper  task: 

That  which  from  nature  you  eflface 

With  its  own  seedling  life  replace." 


IS  FORESTRY  PRACTICABLE  ON  LONG- 
LEAF  PINE  LANDS? 

BY 

JOHN  L.  KAUL 

President  Kaul  Lumber  Company  of  Alabama 

"X*  HE  subject  assigned  to  me  is  "The  Practicability 
of  Forestry  on  Longleaf  Pine  Lands."  My 
acquaintance  with  the  Southern  pine  belt  has  extended 
over  a  period  of  seventeen  years.  During  that  time  I 
have  constantly  observed  the  deplorable  effect  upon  the 
forest  of  lumbering  without  regard  to  the  future. 
My  experience  with  the  actual  application  of  forestry 
to  longleaf  pine  lands,  however,  has  been  limited  to 
the  tracts  in  which  I  am  particularly  interested.  I 
have  thought,  therefore,  that  the  Congress  would  be 
more  interested  to  hear  of  the  plans  which  have  been 
made  for  the  management  of  the  forest  on  these 
lands  and  of  the  results  which  have  thus  far  been 
attained. 

I  shall  deal  directly,  therefore,  with  the  timber 
lands  of  the  Kaul  Lumber  Company,  and  what  forestry 
offers  for  them. 

These  lands  are  located  in  central  Alabama,  and 
comprise  mainly  a  forest  of  pure  longleaf  pine.  Situ- 
ated at  a  rather  unusual  elevation  for  the  species,  and 
on  the  extreme  north  of  its  range,  the  timber  is, 
nevertheless,  equal  to  the  best  in  the  more  widely 
known  pineries  of  the  Atlantic  Coast  and  nearer  the 
Gulf.  The  fine  quality  of  the  timber  and  the  char- 
acter of  the  market  which  the  product  reaches  has 
enabled  the  company  to  make  a  specialty  of  the  choice 
grades  of  finishing  and  edge-grain  flooring. 


American  Forkst  Congress  125 

The  company  has  lumbered  about  25,000  acres  in 
a  county  adjoining  that  in  which  a  portion  of  its 
present  holdings  are  located,  and  where  conditions 
are  very  similar.  These  cut-over  lands  had  no  general 
value  for  agriculture  and  were  without  satisfactory 
market  value  for  other  purposes.  Their  best  use  is 
for  the  growing  of  timber.  A  large  amount  of 
small  timber  was  left  standing  on  these  lands  after 
lumbering,  because  it  did  not  pay  to  handle  it.  As 
a  result,  however,  of  ordinary  methods  of  logging, 
the  timber  thus  left  was  not  sufficient  in  amount  nor 
in  a  conditions  to  promise  another  cut  of  timber 
within  a  reasonable  period  and  was  an  absolute  waste. 
This  prompted  the  company  to  give  serious  considera- 
tion to  the  practicability  of  introducing  modifications 
in  the  method  of  lumbering  which  would  insure  the 
leaving,  in  good  condition,  of  a  sufficient  basis  for 
another  crop  of  timber.  It  was  at  this  time  that  the 
Kaul  Lumber  Company  availed  itself  of  the  offer  of 
the  Bureau  of  Forestry  to  cooperate  with  private 
owners  in  the  conservative  management  of  their 
timber  lands,  and  a  working  plan  was  prepared  for 
the  management  of  the  forest  in  accordance  with 
which  the  lumbering  is  now  being  done. 

At  the  present  rate  of  production,  the  company  will 
lumber  over  its  holdings  in  about  twenty  years'  time. 
The  kernel  of  the  problem  was,  therefore,  to  so  adjust 
matters  that  at  the  end  of  this  period  a  second  crop 
might  be  ready  for  cutting  and  lumbering  might 
continue  without  interruption.  What  the  company 
particularly  wanted,  then,  were  the  measurements 
necessary  to  show  with  a  fair  degree  of  accuracy  the 
rate  of  growth  of  the  important  tree — the  longleaf 
pine — under  the  conditions  obtaining  on  its  cut-over 
lands,   the  rate  of  increase   in  material,  and  also  in 


126  Proce:edings  of  the 

money  per  acre  per  annum,  and  the  return  on  the 
capital  invested  in  the  land  and  that  portion  of  the 
merchantable  timber  which  it  would  be  necessary  to 
hold  over  until  a  second  cutting. 

Actual  measurement  of  the  forest  on  5  per  cent, 
of  the  lands  developed  the  fact  that  by  curtailing  the 
present  cut  by  less  than  20  per  cent,  the  company 
could,  after  twenty  years,  again  obtain  an  amount 
equal  to  45  per  cent,  of  the  present  cut.  This  at  the 
present  value  of  stumpage,  figuring  at  compound 
interest,  is  a  2  per  cent,  investment,  but  assuming  a 
rise  in  stumpage  value  to  $5,  it  is  a  6  per  cent, 
investment.  Should  the  value  of  stumpage  reach  $10 
per  thousand,  which  we  confidently  believe  will  be  the 
case,  the  value  of  the  timber  in  twenty  years'  time 
will  represent  an  investment  of  10  per  cent :  Included 
in  the  calculation  is  a  liberal  allowance  for  the  value 
of  the  land  and  of  the  timber  held  over,  and  for 
taxes,  and  cost  of  protection. 

This  assumption  of  a  rise  in  the  value  of  yellow 
pine  stumpage  leads  to  certain  general  considerations 
which  influence  the  practicability  of  forestry,  and 
brings  in  a  speculative  feature  of  the  lumber  business 
in  the  South.  It  is  only  recently  that  economic 
conditions  have  justified  the  yellow  pine  lumberman 
in  considering  seriously  the  possibility  of  holding  his 
cut-over  lands  to  lumber  a  second  time.  Up  to  a 
comparatively  recent  date  the  value  of  pine  stumpage 
in  the  South  was  exceedingly  low ;  means  of  transpor- 
tation to  market  were  unsatisfactory;  the  market 
itself  was  restricted  and  uncertain;  and  competition 
with  Northern  pine  was  keen.  Of  late  years,  however, 
the  development  of  Southern  timberlands  has  been 
phenomenal.  The  growing  scarcity  of  longleaf  pine 
and   the    steadily   increasing   demand    for   it   renders 


Amejrican  Forest  Congre:ss  127 

certain  a  further  rise  in  its  stumpage  value.  Many 
lumbermen  who  acquire  stumpage  at  50  cents  per 
thousand  now  credit  it  in  their  operations  with  $2.50 
to  $3.50,  and  believe  that  in  twenty  years  it  will  have 
a  value  of  at  least  $10  per  thousand.  This  probable 
rise  in  the  value  of  longleaf  pine  stumpage  is  the 
obvious  reason  for  the  existence  of  companies  which 
hold  large  timber  tracts,  but  do  not  operate  them. 

Just  here  it  will  be  well  to  emphasize  a  point  which 
has  an  important  bearing  upon  the  calculations  of 
the  financial  results  of  lumbering  longleaf  pine 
conservatively.  The  timber  which  the  Kaul  Lumber 
Company  leaves  standing  after  lumbering,  consists 
entirely  of  small  trees  below  18  inches  in  diameter 
on  the  stump,  the  value  of  which  is  considerably  below 
the  average  run  of  the  forest.  Every  tree  contains 
more  or  less  material  which  produces  lumber  of  so 
low  a  grade  that  it  hardly  pays  the  cost  of  manufacture, 
but  the  smaller  trees  saw  out  the  grades  of  low  value 
in  far  greater  proportion  than  the  larger  trees. 

In  connection  with  the  preparation  of  a  detailed  plan 
for  the  conservative  management  of  the  company's 
timber  lands,  an  extensive  investigation  was  made 
in  our  saw  mill  at  Hollins,  Ala.,  to  determine  the 
amounts  and  comparative  values  of  the  grades  which 
trees  of  different  sizes  will  produce.  The  result  of 
this  experiment  proved  conclusively  the  relatively  low 
value  of  the  lumber  produced  from  small  trees,  and 
was  an  important  factor  in  influencing  the  company 
to  lumber  conservatively — in  other  words,  it  went 
still  farther  to  establish  the  bad  business  policy  of 
putting  small  trees  into  the  mill,  rather  than  leaving 
them  to  reach  a  more  profitable  size. 

I  have  found  that  in  forestry,  as  well  as  in  lumbering, 
close  attention  to  details  is  the  key  to  success,  and 


128  PROCEEJDINGS    OF    Tnt 

often  marks  the  difference  between  conservative  and 
destructive  lumbering.  A  general  lack  of  appreciation 
among  the  woodsmen  of  the  value  of  the  raw  material, 
coupled  with  an  entire  disregard  of  the  potential  value 
of  immature  trees,  leads  naturally  to  many  forms  of 
excessive  waste.  Stringent  rules  and  constant  super- 
vision are  necessary  to  enforce  careful  work  in  the 
woods. 

On  our  lands  we  have  developed  a  system  of 
markings  for  cuttings  which  is  cheap  and  effective. 
Instead  of  marking  all  to  be  left  standing  or  all  trees 
to  be  cut,  we  mark  to  be  left  standing  only  those  trees 
slightly  below  the  diameter  limit;  for  example,  if  we 
are  logging  to  i8  inches,  we  mark  to  be  left  standing 
trees  from  12  to  17  inches  which  might  otherwise  be 
cut.  It  is  obvious  that  the  marking  of  smaller  trees 
is  not  necessary,  since  they  would  not  be  taken  in  any 
case.  Under  this  system  the  markings  cost  us  approxi- 
mately 3  cents  per  acre. 

Great  care  is  taken  in  the  fellings  not  to  break  or 
otherwise  injure  the  small  growing  timber.  Trees 
are  thrown  away  from  clumps  of  promising  young 
growth,  and  slash  is  not  allowed  to  accumulate  around 
trees  which  are  left  standing — a  precaution  necessary 
to  avoid  damage  in  case  of  slash  fires. 

In  our  railroad  construction  we  avoid  as  much  as 
possible  the  use  of  longleaf  pine;  not  only  that  which 
is  merchantable  at  present,  but  those  trees  which  will 
become  merchantable  within  the  next  twenty  years. 
On  our  main  line  longleaf  pine  ties  are  still  used,  but 
they  are  either  sawn  at  the  mill  from  rough  and 
knotty  top  logs,  or  they  are  hewn  from  dead  and 
down  timber  throughout  the  forest.  Ties  for  the 
temporary  spurs  are  hewn  from  valueless  hardwoods. 
For  corduroy  and  cribbing,  defective  pine  is  used,  and 


Ame^rican  Forest  Congrejss  129 

this  only  when  hardwood  of  proper  dimensions  is  not 
available.  The  logging  engines  burn  either  coal  or 
pine  knots,  or  wood  cut  from  tops ;  no  live  timber  is 
cut  for  fuel.  The  use  of  tops,  both  in  logging  opera- 
tions and  for  fuel,  is  encouraged,  for  this  not  only 
saves  much  valuable  timber,  but  cleans  up  the  slash 
and  reduces  the  danger  from  fire. 

Except  where  extra  length  is  required  to  fill  special 
bills,  it  is  a  rule  to  cut  short  logs  in  12  to  16- foot 
lengths.  This  makes  it  possible  to  work  the  trees  well 
up  into  the  tops,  and  uses  the  timber  much  more  closely 
than  is  commonly  done  in  longleaf  pine  logging  where 
log  lengths  of  25  to  36  feet  are  out  and  often  a  very 
large  amount  of  merchantable  material  is  left  on  the 
ground  in  tops. 

Tapping  for  turpentine  has  been  a  fruitful  cause 
of  destruction  in  forests  of  longleaf  pine.  With  the 
greatly  increased  demand  for  naval  stores,  it  has 
become  customary  all  over  the  South  to  box  the 
smallest  trees  for,  turpentine.  After  a  few  years  an 
abandoned  turpentine  orchard  is  a  scene  of  utter  ruin. 
The  loss  entailed  to  the  productive  capacity  of  the 
forest  is  enormous.  Improved  methods  of  turpentin- 
ing are  suggested  which  greatly  limit  the  boxing  and 
chipping  of  the  trees.  Small  credence  will  be  placed 
in  their  effectiveness  in  avoiding  deterioration  of  the 
forest,  especially  by  the  lumberman  who  has  seen  in 
thousands  of  cases  the  loss  in  lumber  value  through 
the  after  effects  of  fire  and  decay  which  has  resulted 
from  the  mere  notching  of  trees  to  test  their  grain. 
On  our  lands  turpentining  has  been  limited  absolutely 
to  the  trees  which  will  be  cut  for  the  saw  mill,  and  we 
turpentine  only  two  years  in  advance  of  lumbering. 
The  same  mark  indicates  the  trees  which  are  not  to  be 
turpentined  nor  cut  for  lumber.     As  long  as  tapping 


130  Proce:edings  01^  the: 

for  turpentine  is  confined  to  those  trees  which  will 
within  the  next  two  years  be  cut  for  sawlogs,  damage 
to  the  timber  is  improbable,  and  the  question  of  the 
advisability  of  boxing  for  turpentine  is  reduced  to 
one  of  present  profits.  Whether  the  revenue  derived 
from  turpentine  or  from  the  lease  of  boxing  rights 
exceeds  the  loss  from  the  deterioration  of  the  timber 
before  it  can  be  cut  is  a  question  which,  in  my  judg- 
ment, depends  very  largely  upon  the  promptness  with 
which  logging  can  be  made  to  follow  the  orcharding. 

In  conclusion  I  want  to  say  a  word  about  the 
methods  of  the  Bureau  of  Forestry  as  I  know  them 
on  the  ground,  and  regarding,  from  my  own  expe- 
rience, the  opportunity  which  cooperative  work  with 
that  Bureau  offers  to  lumbermen.  The  working  plan 
for  our  lands,  which,  I  am  told,  you  will  soon  have 
an  opportunity  to  see  in  the  form  of  a  bulletin  of  the 
Bureau  of  Forestry,  has  pleased  me  greatly.  It  has 
taken  up  in  a  direct  and  practical  way  the  business 
considerations  which  the  best  management  of  the  forest 
presents. 

I  am  free  to  confess  that  I  turned  to  forestry  with 
some  doubts.  I  was  not  entirely  sure  that  its  policy, 
admirable  in  the  abstract,  concerns  itself  sufficiently 
v/ith  business  considerations  to  be  of  real  use  to  the 
actual  operator,  but  in  taking  up,  on  our  own  ground, 
the  forest  problems  which  confronted  us,  the  Bureau 
of  Forestry  has  demonstrated,  on  our  tract  at  least, 
the  eminently  practical  character  of  its  work. 

I  have  been  struck  for  a  long  time,  and  with  in- 
creasing force,  with  the  fact  that  the  lumber  industry 
deserves  recognition  in  the  scientific  work  of  the  Gov- 
ernment just  as  much  as  the  work  of  the  farmer  and 
the  stockman.  We  lumberman  represent  as  a  whole 
the  fourth  greatest  industry  of  the  United  States,  and 


Ame:rican  Fori:st  Congre:ss  131 

it  is  upon  our  use  of  the  forests,  the  experts  tell  us, 
that  the  national  prosperity  largely  depends.  In  the 
Bureau  of  Forestry,  I  have  found  that  recognition 
of  the  lumber  interests  v/hich  it  was  my  opinion  that 
the  Government  should  offer.  I  wish,  simply  because 
we  have  profited  by  the  work  of  this  Bureau,  to  urge 
upon  you  your  opportunity  to  take  advantage  of  the 
same  offer  of  cooperation  which  has  benefited  us. 


IS    FORESTRY    PRACTICABLE  IN    THE 
NORTHWEST? 

BY 

VICTOR  H.  BECKMAN 

Editor  Pacific  Lumber  Trade  Journal 

npHE  Committee  on  Arrangements  honored  me 
by  assigning  me  the  question  of  "Is  Forestry 
Practicable  in  the  Northwest?"  This  is  a  pretty  diffi- 
cult subject,  from  the  purely  commercial  standpoint, 
but  one  that  admits,  nevertheless,  of  much  thought  and 
study  by  the  constituency  I  represent. 

Lumbering  is  the  chief  industry  of  the  Pacific 
Northwest,  comprising  the  States  of  Washington, 
Oregon,  Idaho,  and  Montana,  and  the  province  of 
British  Columbia.  In  this  vast  section,  bounded  on 
the  north  by  Alaska,  on  the  south  by  California,  on 
the  west  by  the  boundless  Pacific  Ocean,  and  on  the 
east  by  the  Rocky  Mountains,  are  upward  of  165,000 
men  employed  in  the  destruction  of  the  ''last  and  best 
stand  of  timber,"  for  commercial  uses,  to  whom  are 
paid  annually  in  wages  approximately  $75,000,000, 
and  upon  whose  labor  depends  the  bread  and  butter 
of  nearly  400,000  people.  The  annual  output  in  this 
territory  is  about  5,000,000,000  feet  of  lumber  and 
6,000,000,000  shingles. 

The  amount  of  accessible  timber  in  the  Pacific 
Northwest  is  about  400,000,000,000  feet.  Forest  fires, 
owing  to  lax  methods  and  laws,  have  destroyed  as 
much  timber  as  has  been  cut  by  the  lumbermen,  and 
the  result  of  the  depletion  by  man  and  the  elements 
is  apparent  in  the  fact  that  the  best  timber  contiguous 
to  water  and  railroad  has  in  many  instances  been  cut 


American  Forest  Congress  133 

off,  and  logging  railroads  are  yearly  being  introduced 
for  the  purpose  of  going  further  into  the  heart  of  the 
forest.  Much  timber  is  annually  destroyed  by  the 
ranchers,  who  burn  off  large  areas  for  clearing  pur- 
poses. The  time,  therefore,  is  not  far  off  when  the 
logging  operations  must  be  transferred  to  the  moun- 
tains. Therefore  the  shrewd  lumberman  is  giving 
some  thought  to  preserving  the  existing  forests  and 
the  propagation  of  new  timber. 

Reproduction  of  trees  without  assistance  is  a  slow 
process  and  not  entirely  successful.  The  greatest 
commercial  wood  in  the  Pacific  Northwest  is  Douglas 
fir.  This  occurs  in  vast  bodies  and  is  intermingled 
with  spruce,  hemlock,  and  red  cedar.  The  great  belt 
of  spruce  lies  on  the  west  side  of  the  coast  range  of 
mountains,  the  finest  area  of  red  cedar  is  found  in 
the  northwestern  portion  of  the  State  of  Washington, 
and  British  Columbia,  and  apparently  ceases  after  it 
passes  the  Columbia  River.  Hemlock  is  found  with 
fir,  spruce,  and  cedar,  and  is  more  of  a  general  char- 
acter than  the  two  latter  woods.  In  Eastern  Wash- 
ington, Idaho,  and  Montana  the  principal  commercial 
woods  are  white  and  yellow  pine  and  tamarack — all 
reproducing  readily.  In  Southern  Oregon  sugar  pine 
appears  and  is  a  continuation  of  the  belt  having  its 
origin  in  California. 

Observation  shows  that  in  seven  cases  out  of  ten, 
when  Douglas  fir  is  cut,  the  reproduction  is  hemlock, 
an  inferior  wood,  commercially  speaking,  although 
superior  to  the  Pennsylvania  variety.  Where  the 
ground  has  been  burned  over  by  forest  fires  many 
years  elapse  before  the  soil  becomes  sufficiently  nutri- 
tious to  reproduce  its  species.  Where  hemlock  is 
found  intermingled  with  fir  it  becomes  necessary  to 
cut  the   former  at  once,  because  when  left  without 


134  Proce:e:dings  o^  the: 

the  sheltering  shade  of  the  fir  it  soon  dies  and  decays. 

There  has  been  no  systematic  effort  in  the  direction 
of  tree  planting  in  this  section,  the  aim  being  rather 
to  preserve  the  standing  timber  from  forest  fires  and 
waste  in  cutting.  Two  years  ago  the  writer  took  up  the 
matter  of  an  effective  forest  fire  law,  and  the  result 
was  the  passage  of  an  act  by  the  legislature  of  the 
State  of  Washington  making  it  a  penalty  to  set  fires 
during  the  closed  season,  without  permits  from  the 
county  commissioners.  The  law  has  worked  very  well, 
but  it  is  in  need  of  enforcement,  and  to  this  end  it  is 
quite  probable  a  State  fire  warden  will  be  appointed  at 
the  coming  session  of  the  legislature.  Oregon  and 
Montana  are  also  awake  to  the  needs  of  ample  forest 
fire  protection  and  will  probably  enact  proper  laws 
before  long. 

The  waste  in  the  woods  and  mills  amount  annually 
to  about  25  per  cent. ;  or,  in  other  words,  about 
1,000,000,000  feet  per  annum  is  burned  in  the  woods 
or  the  refuse  burners,  because  there  is  no  market 
available  for  the  by-products.  This  is  equivalent  to 
100,000  dwellings.  Distance  from  market  and  prohibi- 
tive freights  are  responsible  for  this  waste.  For 
example,  the  Missouri  River  territory,  composed  of 
Nebraska,  Kansas,  and  South  Dakota,  consume  an- 
nually 162,000  car  loads  of  lumber  products,  of  which 
the  Pacific  coast  contributes  9,165  car  loads  annually, 
and  although  the  difference  in  the  haul  from  Portland 
to  St.  Paul  and  Omaha  is  only  one  mile,  it  costs  $15 
per  1,000  freight  on  lumber  sold  at  the  mill  for  $5  to 
ship  same  to  Omaha,  as  against  $12  per  1,000  feet  to 
St.  Paul.     Consequently  the  side  lumber  is  burned. 

Forestry  is  practicable  in  the  Pacific  Northwest. 
The  standing  timber  is  its  greatest  crop — a  crop  that 
can  be  harvested  at  any  time,  and  is  not  dependent  on 


American  F'orest  Congress  135 

climatic  changes.  It  should  be  propagated  as  well  as 
preserved.  Individuals  will  not  do  it,  and  the  burden 
will  fall  on  the  State  and  Federal  Government.  It 
occurs  to  me  that  if  it  were  possible  to  enact  laws 
similar  to  those  in  force  in  Germany  and  Sweden, 
where  the  lumberman  is  compelled  to  plant  a  tree 
for  every  one  cut  down,  the  question  of  the  future 
supply  of  timber  would  take  care  of  itself.  In  some 
of  the  European  countries,  I  am  told,  the  State  encour- 
ages the  planting  of  trees  on  waste  places  by  children, 
at  certain  times  of  the  year,  where  each  public  school 
scholar  plants  a  tree,  and  the  idea  of  forest  culture 
and  preservation  is  one  of  the  studies  of  the  public 
school  system.  This  idea  would  be  worthy  of  emula- 
tion in  the  United  States.  Logged  off  lands  should 
be  looked  after  by  a  State  forester,  and  should  be 
re-seeded  as  soon  as  cut  off.  In  the  desert  places 
effort  should  be  made  to  plant  suitable  trees  with  the 
view  not  only  to  timber  but  other  useful  purposes. 
For  example,  there  are  large  areas  of  treeless  land 
in  Washington,  Idaho,  Oregon,  and  Montana,  where 
walnut,  cherry  and  other  valuable  varieties  of  trees 
would  grow  to  perfection.  The  road  commissioners 
should  make  it  their  duty  to  plant  trees  along  the 
roadways  and  a  special  fund  provided  for  this  purpose. 
This  is  as  important  as  good  roads. 

Care  should  be  taken  by  the  State  and  Federal  Gov- 
ernment to  protect  the  headwaters  of  streams.  The 
source  of  water  depends  on  the  preservation  of  forests. 
In  Spain,  the  reckless  cutting  of  trees  at  the  head- 
waters of  streams  many  years  ago  has  converted  large 
sections  of  fertile  lands  into  arid  deserts,  and  the  same 
is  true  elsewhere.  Trees  and  vegetation  hold  moisture 
and  prevent  floods  and  thus  create  a  steady  and  perma- 
nent flow  of  water  to  irrigate  the  parched  soil  and 
induce  fertility  in  place  of  drouth. 


136  Proci:e:dings  o^  the: 

Scientific  forestry  will  create  permanent  wealth  for 
the  Pacific  Northwest.  It  means  much  to  the  entire 
commonwealth  because  it  will  not  only  solve  the  ques- 
tion of  reproduction,  but  can  make  the  desert  bloom, 
thus  adding  to  the  welfare  of  the  people  and  creating 
productive  land  for  the  new  settlers  in  the  semi-arid 
sections  of  our  country.  In  this  the  burden  must  be 
shared  by  all.  The  railroads  should  plant  trees  along 
their  right  of  way,  the  lumbermen  should  replant  his 
logged-off  area,  the  farmer  should  set  aside  a  portion 
of  his  holdings  for  tree  culture,  the  road  commis- 
sioners should  provide  for  shade  and  comfort  along 
the  country  roads,  the  State  should  encourage  arbor 
days  and  teach  the  rising  generation  the  value  of 
forestry,  and  the  Government  should  endeavor  to 
demonstrate  in  a  practical  way  the  necessity  for  pre- 
serving the  forests. 

There  is  no  question  so  broad  and  so  worthy  of  the 
attention  of  the  people  at  large  as  the  one  of  forestry, 
and  it  is  indeed  a  good  omen  when  so  distinguished 
a  man  as  our  worthy  President,  Theodore  Roosevelt, 
takes  an  interest  in  it.  The  lumbermen  of  the  Pacific 
Northwest  are  his  "kind  of  people." 


INTEREST    OF    LUMBERMEN    IN    CON- 
SERVATIVE FORESTRY 

BY 

F.  E.  WEYERHAEUSER 

Weyerhaeuser  Lumber  Company 

PRACTICAL  forestry  ought  to  be  of  more  interest 
and  importance  to  lumbermen  than  to  any  other 
class  of  men.  Unfortunately,  they  have  not  always 
appreciated  this  fact.  There  has  been  a  firmly  rooted 
idea  that  forestry  was  purely  theoretical  and  incapable 
of  application  in  a  business  way;  a  prejudice  which, 
in  large  part  through  the  influence  of  the  Bureau  of 
Forestry,  is  now  beginning  to  disappear.  At  present 
lumbermen  are  ready  to  consider  seriously  any  propo- 
sition which  may  be  made  by  those  who  have  the 
conservative  use  of  the  forests  at  heart. 

Lumbermen  have  been  averse  also  to  uniting  their 
interests  with  those  of  the  government,  because  of  a 
doubt  of  the  business  efficiency  of  some  of  the  Govern- 
ment's work,  and  this  in  spite  of  the  fact,  which  they 
recognize,  that  every  possible  step  should  be  taken  to 
protect  the  national  land  and  timber  from  depreda- 
tions. 

The  work  of  first  importance  in  bringing  about  the 
adoption  of  practical  forestry  is  the  work  of  education. 
For  this,  every  possible  means  of  reaching  the  public 
mind  must  be  employed,  and  above  all  the  object  lesson 
of  practical  forestry  applied  on  the  ground. 

Everywhere  throughout  our  timber  regions  Nature 
is  struggling  to  renew  her  growth,  and  mere  casual 
observation  forces  upon  us  the  fact  that  the  forests 
will  reproduce  themselves,  if  given  a  fair  chance.     But 


138  Proceedings  oi^  the 

there  are  three  great  obstacles  which  must  be  reckoned 
with  in  the  profitable  reproduction  of  timber,  viz. : 
time,  fire  and  taxes.     Let  us  consider  them  briefly. 

First,  as  to  time.  Few  lumbermen  have  watched 
the  growth  of  timber  long  enough  to  know  what  its 
increase  is.  Forestry  is  a  new  idea  to  us,  and  we 
have  given  little  thought  to  the  future.  Furthermore, 
forest  growth  varies  greatly  in  different  climates,  and 
in  different  varieties  of  trees  in  the  same  climate. 
Before  he  can  consider  forestry  the  lumberman  must 
know  the  rate  of  annual  growth  and  the  cost  of  pro- 
tecting the  forests.  This  information  the  forester  is 
able  to  give  him.  In  other  words,  to  tell  how  long 
it  will  take  to  produce  a  merchantable  tree,  and  the 
average  per  acre.  Knowing  these  facts,  it  is  a  com- 
paratively simple  matter  to  determine  whether  a  given 
forest  can  be  maintained,  and  yet  made  to  yield  satis- 
factory returns  to  the  owner.  Throughout  the  South 
particularly,  conditions  are  very  favorable  and  promis- 
ing. The  reports  of  the  Bureau  of  Forestry  lead  us  to 
believe  confidently  that  there  will  be  a  profit  in  raising 
short  leaf  yellow  pine  timber,  provided  that  the  history 
of  the  increase  in  timber  values  in  the  North  is  repeated 
in  the  South,  of  which  there  seems  to  be  no  doubt. 
On  the  Pacific  Coast  also  the  climate  is  suited  for  the 
steady  and  rapid  growth  of  excellent  timber.  At  the 
present  time  values  there  are  too  low  to  insure  any 
profit  in  conservative  forestry,  but  a  few  years  will 
undoubtedly  bring  about  very  different  conditions. 

The  average  manufacturer  holds  too  little  land  to 
supply  his  mills  indefinitely  at  the  present  annual  cut. 
To  secure  a  permanent  supply  from  his  present  hold- 
ings, either  they  must  be  increased  or  his  mill  capacity 
must  be  cut  down.  Eventually  the  big  mills  must 
disappear,  and  in  their  place  we  shall  have  smaller  but 


American  Forest  Congress  139 

permanent  ones.  The  fact  that  cut-over  lands  are 
covered  with  young  growth,  which  before  many  years 
will  b€  of  merchantable  size,  will  add  greatly  to  their 
value,  which  will  increase  more  and  more  as  our  tim- 
ber supply  diminishes.  Moreover,  we  understand  that 
it  is  the  policy  of  the  Bureau  of  Forestry  not  to  recom- 
mend the  adoption  of  working  plans  where  they  cannot 
be  carried  out  profitably.  When  business  men  fully 
appreciate  this  fact,  it  will  go  far  toward  securing  their 
cooperation. 

The  next  obstacle,  more  important  because  harder 
to  overcome,  is  fire.  I  am  frank  enough  to  say  that  in 
this  matter  lumbermen  themselves  are  largely  respon- 
sible, sometimes  even  to  the  extent  of  fighting  reform. 
For  example:  two  years  ago  a  bill  was  proposed  in 
Minnesota  providing  for  the  burning  of  slashings. 
Because  of  the  opposition  of  the  lumbermen  it  was 
never  reported  out  of  the  committee.  Since  then  the 
Government  has  required  the  burning  of  slashings  on 
the  Leech  Lake  Indian  Reservation.  The  wise  and 
moderate  regulations  suggested  by  the  Bureau  of 
Forestry  were  introduced  with  complete  success.  It 
was  a  splendid  object  lesson.  A  wisely-drawn  bill 
presented  to  the  Legislature  to-day  would  be  supported 
by  the  best  of  lumbermen. 

But  the  lumberman  is  not  only  culprit  but  sufferer 
also,  and  he  must  be  protected  against  loss  from  fire 
by  the  rigid  enforcement  of  proper  laws.  With  a  suffi- 
cient patrol  during  dry  seasons,  and  reasonable  care 
on  the  part  of  those  who  start  fires,  this  source  of  awful 
destruction  can  certainly  be  checked,  though  it  never 
can  be  entirely  eliminated. 

The  final  obstacle  is  taxes.  If  anywhere,  it  is  here 
that  the  lumberman  practicing  forestry  under  present 
conditions  will  be  checked,  for  the  lumberman,  more 


I40  ProcjKKdings  O^  THEJ 

than  any  other  manufacturer,  is  the  subject  of  heavy 
taxation.  The  local  assessor  feels  that  the  timber 
may  soon  be  cut,  and  that  he  must  "make  hay  while 
the  sun  shines."  This  policy  of  drastic  taxation  results 
inevitably  in  the  slashing  of  the  timber  and  the  com- 
plete destruction  of  the  forest.  Here,  as  before,  we 
meet  with  the  urgent  necessity  of  missionary  work 
in  the  interest  of  the  forest. 

It  has  been  suggested  that  land  held  for  forestry 
purposes  be  taxed  with  special  leniency,  or  perhaps 
that  the  bulk  of  the  tax  be  transferred  from  the 
standing  timber  to  the  logs  when  cut.  It  certainly  is 
not  just  that  land  which  can  produce  but  one  crop  in 
forty  years  should  be  taxed  on  the  same  scale  as  land 
which  produces  an  annual  crop.  "Death  by  taxation" 
would  be  the  coroner's  verdict  on  many  a  magnificent 
forest  now  laid  low.  Assuming  that  the  land  held  for 
forestry  purposes  is  valuable  only  for  timber,  the  State 
would  far  better  collect  a  low  annual  tax  over  a  long 
period  of  years  than  levy  a  heavy  tax  for  a  short 
period;  and  this  is  obvious  when  we  consider  that  an 
important  industry  is  thus  maintained,  and  a  consider- 
able and  constant  pay-roll  secured. 

The  conclusion  we  reach  with  reference  to  private 
effort  is,  that  forestry  is  practical,  and  can  be  applied 
profitably,  under  favorable  conditions;  but  that  only 
by  tremendous  effort  can  the  lumberman  himself,  the 
legislator  and  the  voter  be  made  to  realize  its  impor- 
tance and  its  possibilities.  Much  has  already  been 
done,  and  we  congratulate  the  Agricultural  Depart- 
ment and  the  Bureau  of  Forestry  on  the  able  and 
efficient  manner  in  which  information  is  being  dissemi- 
nated. It  is  safe  to  predict  that  their  efforts  will  be 
followed  by  actual  results. 

All  arguments  in  favor  of  the  adoption  of  conserva- 


American  Forest  Congress  141 

tive  lumbering  by  the  individual  are  still  more  forcible 
and  conclusive  when  used  concerning  the  adoption  of 
them  by  the  State  or  the  National  Government  on 
forest  reserves.  The  question  of  taxes  is  at  once 
disposed  of,  the  fire  situation  is  in  the  hands  of  those 
who  have  ample  authority  to  enforce  laws,  and  the 
net  results  in  profits  can  be  figured  on  the  lowest  pos- 
sible basis.  Furthermore,  the  State  has  vital  interests 
far  beyond  those  of  the  individual — such  as  the  regu- 
lation of  the  water  supply  in  streams,  the  benefit  of 
forest  areas  from  the  standpoint  of  health  and  recrea- 
tion, the  perpetual  maintenance  of  a  timber  supply 
with  its  future  effect  on  the  price  of  forest  products 
within  the  State;  the  making  productive  of  otherwise 
useless  land,  and  the  maintenance  of  a  valuable  indus- 
try. For  these  and  for  many  other  reasons  far-sighted 
lumbermen  favor  the  rapid  increase  of  State  and  Na- 
tional Forest  Reserves,  provided  they  are  established 
only  on  proper  lands. 

In  conclusion  let  me  say  that  it  was  the  desire  of  the 
Honorable  President  of  this  Congress  that  Mr.  F. 
Weyerhaeuser,  of  St.  Paul,  should  address  the  conven- 
tion. Mr.  Weyerhaeuser  wishes  me  to  say  that  he 
sincerely  regrets  his  inability  to  be  here,  and  further 
to  assure  those  present  that  he  and  his  associates  in 
the  lumber  business  are  thoroughly  in  sympathy  with 
the  work  and  plans  of  the  Association  and  the  Bureau 
of  Forestry,  and  stand  ready  to  do  whatever  is  in  their 
power  to  cooperate  in  them. 


IMPORTANCE  OF  FORESTRY  TO  WOOD- 
WORKING  INDUSTRIES 

BY 

M.  C.  MOORE 

Editor  of  Packages 

1  COME  before  you  as  a  delegate,  representing  the 
National  Slack  Cooperage  Manufacturers'  Associ- 
ation and  the  Beer  Stock  Manufacturers'  Association 
of  the  United  States,  both  of  which  organizations 
represent  vast  capital  invested  and  an  enormous  con- 
sumption yearly  of  the  best  hardwood  timber.  I  am 
also  in  close  connection  with  the  Tight  Barrel  Stave 
Manufacturers'  Association,  the  National  Box  and 
Box  Shook  Manufacturers'  Association,  the  Western 
Cigar  Box  Manufacturers'  Association,  the  Eastern 
Cigar  Box  Manufacturers'  Association,  as  well  as  other 
associations  having  to  do  with  the  manufacture  of 
package  material. 

Curiously  enough,  statistics  are  not  in  existence 
showing  the  immensity  of  the  manufacture  of  wood 
in  the  various  lines  named.  This  is  a  source  of  great 
regret  to  me.  Only  by  these  figures  could  I  hope  to 
convey  to  those  here  in  attendance  any  idea  of  the 
great  amount  of  work  turned  out  in  all  the  various 
lines  of  wooden  package  making  and  the  tremendous 
consumption  of  timber  which  is  entailed  in  producing 
this  finished  work. 

White  pine,  yellow  pine,  poplar,  basswood,  gum, 
spruce,  hemlock,  and  many  other  woods  in  lesser 
quantity,  enter  into  the  manufacture  of  boxes,  and  this 
industry,  while  not  much  heard  from  in  a  general  way, 
is  one  of  steadily  increasing  magnitude  and  importance. 


American  Forest  Congress  143 

It  has  been  estimated  that  the  manufacture  of 
wooden  boxes  alone  consumes  toward  40  per  cent,  of 
the  entire  Kimber  production  of  the  United  States. 
When  we  consider  what  the  aggregate  of  this  lumber 
production  is,  and,  if  we  further  consider  the  fact  that 
a  wooden  box  is  about  the  most  familiar  and  fre- 
quently seen  object  on  the  face  of  the  civilized  earth, 
we  can  begin  to  appreciate  the  figure  cut  by  the  wooden 
box  industry  alone,  in  lumber  consumption. 

The  barrel,  as  we  all  know,  takes  no  back  seat  as 
an  industrial  container,  and  it  is  more  important  com- 
mercially, and  is  made  in  greater  numbers,  with  every 
year  that  passes,  owing  to  the  very  rapid  multiplication 
and  growth  of  those  industries  which  are  extensive 
and,  in  many  cases,  exclusive,  barrel  users.  The  term 
"barrel,"  is  a  very  elastic  one,  ranging  from  the  cheaply 
constructed  article  made  for  truck,  salt,  and  the  like, 
through  many  stages  of  increase  in  value  and  quality, 
up  to  the  expensive  and  substantial  packages  used  for 
beer,  whiskey,  oil,  meat  packing,  and  numerous  other 
purposes  which  require  the  utmost  of  tightness  and 
quality  in  a  package. 

When  we  stop  to  think  how  much  flour,  apples, 
sugar,  meat,  fish,  truck,  salt,  cement,  lime,  whiskey, 
beer,  oil,  molasses,  etc.,  are  produced  in  the  United 
States,  and  how  largely  they  are  dependent  upon  the 
barrel  as  a  package,  we  begin  to  see  what  the  con- 
sumption of  timber — hardwood  mainly — mounts  up 
for  barrel  packages  alone.  The  butter  tub  trade  is 
also  an  extensive  one,  and  takes  a  large  amount  of  a 
very  high  class  of  hardwood  timber.  A  great  annual 
production  of  woodenware  in  the  shape  of  tubs,  pails, 
firkins,  etc.,  comes  in  to  swell  the  aggregate  in  the 
use  of  timber  by  the  package  making  trade.  It  will 
thus   be    seen,    without    further    enumeration    of    the 


144  Proceedings  of  the 

industries  concerned,  or  enlargement  upon  their  vast 
timber  requirements,  that  the  aggregate  necessities  of 
the  wooden  package  manufacturers  as  to  timber  supply 
and  use  are  truly  enormous. 

In  thinking  of  this  subject  of  timber  supply  for  these 
great  trades  two  questions  have  been  chiefly  prominent 
in  my  mind.  They  are  wholly  practical  and,  in  con- 
junction with  this  serious  question  of  forest  preserva- 
tion and  supply,  they  must  be  adequately  met  and 
answered. 

In  the  first  place,  it  is  evident  that  the  industries  to 
which  I  have  referred  must  have  timber  in  large  sup- 
plies steadily;  in  even  larger  supplies  than  they  are 
using  now.  Where  are  these  supplies  to  come  from 
in  the  future?  Will  the  application  of  scientific  prin- 
ciples of  forestry  and  of  reforestation,  enable  these 
industries  to  continue  operation  indefinitely  upon  the 
great  scale  on  which  they  are  operating  now,  and  upon 
which  timber  is  now  being  used  by  them? 

Secondly,  how  will  the  application  of  the  principles 
of  scientific  forestry  effect  the  present  manufacturers 
of  lumber  of  cooperage  stock,  and,  what  amounts  to 
the  same  thing,  the  manufacturers  of  wooden  packages 
of  all  sorts?  Should  some  certain  system  of  forest 
preservation  or  reserve  be  put  into  obligatory  opera- 
tion, how  would  it  effect  the  rights  of  present  lumber 
and  cooperage  stock  manufacturers,  and  what  effect, 
if  any,  would  it  have  upon  their  forest  holdings  or 
those  which  they  may  in  the  future  acquire  ? 

These,  I  think,  are  the  most  practical  points  which 
can  be  brought  up  at  this  meeting,  and  they  are  points 
which  must  be  most  carefully  considered,  from  all 
points  of  view,  before  any  substantial  progress  can  be 
made  along  forestry  lines. 

I  am  sorry  to  say,  because  I  believe  that  it  ought 


Am:^rican  Forest  Congress  145 

not  to  be  so,  that  American  manufacturers  of  lumber 
and  cooperage  stock  are,  as  a  rule,  looking  no  farther 
ahead  than  the  length  of  their  own  lives,  or  their  own 
active  business  careers,  as  far  as  the  consumption  of 
timber  is  concerned.  The  manufacturer  of  timber 
reasons  in  a  truly  American  way,  "Let  me  get  the 
timber  off  and  convert  it  into  cash.  That's  my  job. 
I  reckon  my  descendants  will  be  better  off  with  the 
cash  than  with  the  timber,  and  I'm  not  looking  out  for 
the  other  fellow's  descendants." 

This  is  a  natural,  and,  under  conditions  prevailing 
up  to  the  present  time  in  this  country,  an  inevitable 
process  of  reasoning,  and  the  result  has  been  the 
astounding  depletion  of  our  forests  which  has  taken 
place  mainly  in  the  last  fifty  years.  How  are  we  going 
to  induce  the  manufacturer  to  look  at  this  thing  differ- 
ently, as  long  as  his  timber  holds  out?  This,  as  I  see 
it,  is  the  chief  job  which  we  have  before  us  to-day. 

There  is,  I  am  pleased  to  say,  one  extensive  coop- 
erage stock  manufacturing  concern  which  is  now 
lumbering  a  forest  extending  over  about  15,000  acres, 
on  scientific  principles,  cutting  each  year  only  those 
trees  which  may  be  considered  to  have  attained  their 
growth,  commercially  speaking.  The  concern  alluded 
to  calculates  that  it  will  be  able  to  lumber  this  tract 
indefinitely,  for  an  untold  number  of  years  to  come, 
by  the  steady  application  of  this  principle.  It  is  the 
fact,  however,  that  few  great  tracts  suitable  for  the 
manufacture  of  cooperage  stock  now  remain  to  be 
handled  in  this  way,  except  in  the  south  and  on  the 
Pacific  coast.  Most  manufacturers  are  working  from 
comparatively  small  tracts,  from  which  they  feel 
obliged  to  cut  all  the  timber  they  can  use,  whether  the 
same  has  or  has  not  attained  full  growth. 

There  is  one  fact  which  seems  to  me  generally  en- 


146  Prockedings  of  the 

couraging  to  the  principles  of  forestry  as  set  forth  at 
this  convention.  This  is  that  many  hardwood  tracts 
which  have  been  cut  over  by  manufacturers  a  few 
years  since,  all  timber  of  suitable  size  having  then  been 
cut  away,  have  now,  in  the  space  of  five  or  ten  years 
in  many  cases,  attained  trees  of  sufficient  size  so  that 
mills  are  again  going  into  these  sections,  although 
they  had  been  deserted,  as  exhausted,  by  other  mills 
comparatively  a  few  years  ago. 

The  industries  which  I  represent  must  have  timber. 
They  must  have  a  very  great  amount  of  it.  They 
must  have  it  steadily  available  on  a  strictly  commercial 
basis.  Now  what  can  the  principles  of  scientific  for- 
estry do  for  these  industries  in  a  practical,  business- 
like way  which  will  place  no  hardship  upon  the 
manufacturers,  but  which  will  still  preserve  the  timber 
indefinitely  for  their  use  ?  All  are  greatly  interested  in 
this  question  and  are  looking  to  this  Congress  to 
furnish  at  least  some  advance  toward  a  solution  of  it. 
What  is  the  solution? 


IS  FORESTRY    PRACTICABLE   IN    THE 
NORTHEAST? 

BY 

JOHN  A.  DIX 

President  Moose  River  Lumber  Company,  of  New  York 

'T'HE  first  Americans  were  not  skilled  in  the  art  of 
husbandry ;  they  considered  the  forest  only  as  the 
means  of  providing  food  and  raiment,  and  in  their 
minds  the  value  of  the  trees  was  measured  by  the 
protection  to  wild  animals  which  provided  food  or 
the  skins  of  which  entered  into  the  economy  and  neces- 
sities of  existence.  An  occasional  and  convenient  piece 
of  wood  gave  warmth  or  served  as  a  means  of  prepar- 
ing food. 

It  is  fair  to  presume  that  the  advent  of  the  Pilgrim 
Fathers  and  by  them  the  immediate  removal  of  the 
forests  to  enable  them  to  till  the  soil  and  reap  the 
results  donated  by  years  of  timber  growth,  caused  the 
natives  to  look  upon  the  new  order  of  things  with 
disapproval.  The  forests  readily  yielded  to  the  axe 
of  the  pioneer;  trees  only  impeded  the  progress  and 
advance  of  settlements.  A  small  percentage  of  the 
timber  was  converted  into  structures  for  homes  and 
into  stockades  for  protection,  but  the  greater  portion 
of  the  forests  yielded  to  fire  and  was  consumed  as 
waste.  From  this  beginning  the  consumption  of  the 
forests  has  been  unremitting  without  consideration 
of  a  future  supply.  We  hear  occasionally  that  timber 
is  getting  "farther  back"  and  more  expensive,  but  as 
soon  as  the  demand  is  keen  the  means  of  penetrating 
to  the  supply  do  not  deter  the  lumbermen  from  obtain- 
ing the  trees. 

Only  recently  the  saw  mills  have  deemed  it  import- 


148  Proceedings  of  the 

ant  to  utilize  thin  saws  instead  of  converting  an  un- 
warrantable amount  of  good  material  into  saw-dust. 

This  tendency  to  economize  in  the  manufacture  of 
lumber  is  the  suggestion  that  the  end  is  in  sight. 
Thoughtful  people  who  are  interested  in  forest  lands, 
as  well  as  those  who  derive  an  income  from  the 
products  of  the  forests,  are  giving  timely  heed  to 
advice  and  information  now  being  given  by  the  Bureau 
of  Forestry  as  to  the  importance  of  reforesting  lands 
which  have  contributed  to  the  demands  of  civilization. 

Wise  assistance  given  to  the  meagre  natural  condi- 
tions of  reproduction  will  yield  profitable  results,  and 
the  lumbermen  are  not  alone  in  their  anxiety  about 
future  supply.  Railroads  and  telegraph  companies  are 
considering  and  experimenting  with  methods  of  pre- 
serving timber  which  enters  into  their  needs.  If  an 
economical  wood  preservative  will  add  50  per  cent,  to 
the  efficiency  of  timber,  the  demands  on  the  forest  will 
be  correspondingly  decreased,  and  those  who  use,  as 
well  as  those  who  provide,  are  much  interested  in  the 
progress  of  this  feature  in  the  Bureau  of  Forestry. 
France,  Germany  and  England  have  practiced  this 
economy  and  demonstrated  the  practicability  of  treat- 
ing wood  for  railroad  ties  and  telegraph  poles,  but 
their  lesson  has  been  one  of  necessity,  not  of  foresight. 
We  do  not  anticipate  and  practice  these  economies 
because  timber  has  been  abundant.  We  are,  however, 
passing  through  a  period  of  transition  and  the  admi- 
rable work  of  the  Bureau  of  Forestry  in  cooperating 
with  the  different  States  to  achieve  results  which  will 
mark  a  new  epoch  in  forestry  will  be  to  the  lasting 
benefit  of  future  generations. 

Along  with  the  accomplishment  of  reforesting,  we 
should  not  be  unmindful  of  the  tremendous  waste  and 
permanent  destruction  of  the  soil  resulting  from  forest 


American  Forest  Congress  149 

fires.  Concerted  action  must  be  insured  for  the  careful 
watching  and  successful  preventing  of  fires  in  the 
forests.  The  successful  method  to  accomplish  this 
important  work  would  be  to  employ  at  commensurate 
wages  a  competent  and  skillful  fire  warden  to  preside 
over  a  certain  district  and  to  employ  under  his  direction 
the  students  from  the  several  colleges  of  forestry. 
This  experience  for  the  students  would  be  for  a  short 
period  of  time  each  year  during  the  season  of  drought 
prior  to  the  time  when  the  shrubs  and  trees  are  bud- 
ding. Military  colleges  require  students  to  devote  a 
certain  amount  of  time  to  become  experienced  in  the 
art  of  drilling.  Is  it  not  quite  as  important  that  the 
colleges  of  forestry  require  practical  experience? 

New  York  State  has  been  active  for  a  few  years  in 
planting  seedlings  of  spruce,  pine  and  hardwood  on 
denuded  lands.  The  work  has  been  intelligently  pros- 
ecuted by  Col.  William  F.  Fox,  who  is  an  ardent 
advocate  of  the  importance  and  common  sense  practi- 
cability of  this  method  of  reproducing  timber;  of 
securing  to  the  soil  the  properties  Nature  intended 
should  exist.  If  proper  encouragement  is  forthcom- 
ing, the  systematic  annual  planting  of  seedlings  will 
be  carried  out  in  the  State  parks,  especially  in  the 
Adirondacks  and  the  Catskills.  There  are  important 
successful  nurseries  established  for  this  purpose  and 
the  advocates  of  this  method  of  reforesting  believe  and 
teach  that  the  increased  value  of  these  denuded  lands 
will  be  far  in  excess  of  the  actual  expense  of  planting. 
The  beneficial  results  which  will  follow  by  the  reten- 
tion of  moisture,  by  the  improvement  of  the  soil  and 
the  contribution  to  the  economy  of  commerce  and 
navigation,  all  these  are  in  line  with  American 
progress.  It  is  a  well  known  fact  that  each  tree  thus 
planted  will  contribute  its  share  to  the  humus  which 

F 


150  Proce:e:dings  of  the 

is  the  natural  sponge  or  source  of  every  mountain 
stream.  If  this  source  is  protected  or  created  we  are 
at  the  very  foundation  of  economy,  assisting  to  create 
a  condition  of  preventing  torrents. 

Private  owners  of  timberland  should  be  encouraged 
to  plant  annually  as  compensation  for  the  removal  of 
trees,  for  the  reseeding  of  burned  lands,  and  thus  make 
a  beginning  to  restore  the  natural  conditions  of  the 
soil.  It  has  required  years  of  education  to  have  this 
feature  of  forestry  become  attractive  to  the  lumbermen, 
yet  to-day  it  is  with  pride  that  New  York  State  can 
announce  to  this  Congress  that  denuded  tracts  are 
being  planted.  One  lumber  firm  has  successfully 
planted  pine  seed  on  a  tract  which  had  been  burned, 
and  the  method  employed  was  to  sow  the  seed  in  rows 
of  six  feet  and  six  feet  apart,  thus  leaving  a  space 
between  the  rows  which  will  be  planted  with  seedlings 
as  soon  as  they  have  attained  sufficient  growth.  This 
same  firm  has  established  a  nursery  and  is  giving 
special  care  to  the  growing  of  spruce  and  pine  seedlings 
for  planting  on  its  own  preserve. 

The  system  of  timber  cutting  or  lumbering  is  of 
tremendous  importance  bearing  upon  the  future 
growth,  especially  for  spruce  trees  which  no  doubt  are 
the  most  valuable  products  of  the  Adirondack  forest 
to-day.  The  natural  tendency  of  the  spruce  tree  is 
to  rest  unless  the  proper  amount  of  light  is  admitted 
to  its  immediate  surroundings.  The  plan,  therefore, 
of  timber  cutting  is  to  remove  mature  trees,  using 
judgment  to  cause  as  little  destruction  as  possible  to 
the  small  trees.  The  use  of  defective  hardwood  trees 
for  the  building  of  roads  and  bridges  and  for  the  use 
as  skids  will  benefit  the  conditions  of  growth  for  the 
remaining  spruce  trees. 

The  importance  of  leaving  on  high  ground  an  occa- 


American  Forkst  Congress  151 

sional  mature  tree  for  seed  purposes  cannot  be  too 
strongly  urged.  This  will  continue  Nature's  method 
of  reproduction  and  not  destroy  all  of  the  possibilities 
of  future  growth.  The  small  trees  will  take  on  new 
life  and  reveal  a  marvellous  increase  of  diameter  if 
their  condition  is  benefited  by  the  removal  of  defective 
hardwood,  and  as  an  evidence  of  this  future  growth, 
data  have  been  tabulated  which  reveal  the  following 
careful  estimate.  Virgin  forests  of  spruce,  if  cut  to 
a  twelve-inch  basis ;  that  is,  all  of  the  twelve-inch  trees 
left  standing,  an  equal  product  can  be  harvested  from 
this  same  territory  in  a  period  of  twenty  years.  Should 
the  land  be  cut  to  a  ten-inch  basis,  it  will  require  forty 
years  to  reproduce,  and  should  the  cutting  be  made  to 
an  eight-inch  basis,  a  century  of  growth  will  be  re- 
quired for  a  yield  equal  to  the  original  cutting  or 
harvest. 

As  an  evidence  of  the  resting  qualities  of  spruce, 
a  small  tree  of  fifteen  feet  in  height  growing  under- 
neath a  cover  of  large  trees,  was  cut  down  and  exam- 
ined as  to  its  annual  rings.  It  revealed  a  growth  of 
about  one  century,  yet  this  tree,  had  the  cover  been 
removed,  would  have  taken  on  new  life,  grown  as 
rapidly  as  a  vigorous  young  trees  of  a  dozen  years  and 
been  a  competitor  for  an  equally  good  yield  of  timber. 

Our  population  is  not  great  enough  to  enable  us  to 
sweep  and  garnish  our  forests  as  practiced  in  some 
countries  where  the  natives  are  glad  to  get  the  waste 
or  fallen  branches  for  fuel.  On  the  Island  of  Madeira, 
fuel  is  annually  grown  from  seeding  the  mountainous 
lands  with  pine  seed.  As  soon  as  the  trees  have  at- 
tained fifteen  feet  in  height,  they  are  carefully  removed, 
roots  and  all,  bundled  and  sold  in  the  city  of  Funchal 
as  the  principal  product  for  fuel.  This  process  has 
been  in  existence  for  years  and  evidently  is  on  a  paying 


152  Proceedings  oe  the 

basis.  One  can  see  the  stages  of  growth  from  a  few 
inches  in  height  to  the  tree  of  sufficient  size  for  market. 
We  may  be  compelled  to  take  a  lesson  from  our  Portu- 
guese friends  if  we  continue  to  demand  from  the 
forests  without  contributing  to  future  grov/th. 

Lumbermen,  as  a  rule,  do  not  spend  time  with 
theories  which  are  not  practical.  The  winning  of 
bread  by  cutting  wood  is  an  old-time  vocation,  and 
the  one  is  quite  as  difficult  as  the  other ;  the  application 
of  energy  or  brawn  will  obtain  an  equivalent  to  pur- 
chase bread,  and  no  thought  is  expended  on  a  possible 
plan  to  make  two  trees  grow  v/here  there  was  but  one. 
Yet  our  minds  are  turning  to  the  reproduction  of  that 
opportunity  of  winning  bread,  and  this  Congress  is 
an  evidence  of  that  trend  of  thought. 

Recently  the  beneficial  results  of  having  waste  lands 
adjacent  to  cities  covered  with  a  growth  of  fir  trees, 
have  been  discussed  by  professional  men  who  believe 
that  dusty  cities  can  be  improved  from  a  sanitary  point 
of  view  by  having  the  outlying  districts  covered  with 
pine  trees.  They  realize  that  the  trees  will  hold  the 
sandy  soil,  bring  back  its  fertility  and  give  to  the 
atmosphere  the  properties  of  the  woods.  Invalids  seek 
the  woods ;  why  not  bring  the  forests  to  the  cities  and 
benefit  those  people  who  cannot  go  thither? 

Bulletins  issued  by  the  Bureau  of  Forestry  under 
the  wise,  intelligent,  and  practical  direction  of  Mr. 
Giflford  Pinchot,  have  created  a  desire  to  demonstrate 
on  the  part  of  progressive  lumbermen,  that  the  fact  of 
reforesting  lands  is  important.  This  Congress  will 
broaden  the  sphere  of  practical  forestry.  It  is  the 
nucleus  of  a  movement  that  will  take  root  in  the  soil 
of  every  State,  and,  like  the  proverbial  mustard  seed, 
spring  up  and  wax  into  a  great  tree. 


OUR    PACIFIC    COAST    FORESTS    AND 

LOGGING  AS  DIFFERING  FROM 

OTHER  FORESTS 

BY 

COLONEL  GEORGE  H.  EMERSON 

Vice-President  The  Northwestern  Lumber  Company,  of  Washington 

'T'HE  summit  of  the  Cascade  Mountains  is  the  Hne 
of  division  between  the  timber  of  eastern  and 
western  Washington,  also  of  eastern  and  western 
Oregon.  To  the  east  He  open  pine  forests,  similar 
to  those  of  the  Southern  and  Eastern  States.  To  the 
west  is  a  dense  jungle  of  giant  trees. 

On  the  gravelly  land  of  the  western  slope  of  the 
Cascades  the  timber  is  of  moderate  size  and  consists 
almost  entirely  of  Douglas  fir  and  red  cedar,  with 
moderate  underbrush.  The  fir  is  from  24  to  40  inches 
in  diameter,  and  from  100  to  150  feet  tall  and  the 
cedars  are  of  about  the  same  diameter,  but  less  height. 

On  the  lower  bench  and  bottom  lands,  east  of  Puget 
Sound,  and  on  the  clay  lands  wherever  found,  fir, 
cedar,  and  hemlock  intermingle,  and  near  the  coast 
spruce  is  abundant,  sometimes  growing  alone,  but  more 
often  with  the  fir  and  other  woods.  On  these  lands 
our  large  timber  grows,  fir  and  spruce  from  40  to  80 
inches  in  diameter  and  from  150  to  250  feet  in  height. 
These  dimensions  are  common,  and  10  feet  for  fir  or 
spruce,  and  20  feet  for  cedars,  are  not  extreme  diam- 
eters. The  hemlock  is  of  less  size;  18  to  24  on  the 
stump  is  most  common,  40  inches  not  exceptional. 

Beneath  these  trees  often  lie  the  fathers  of  the 
forest,  still  sound,  pinned  to  the  ground  by  the  roots 


154  Proce:e:dings  01^  th^ 

of  trees  themselves  a  hundred  years  old,  and  over  and 
among  all  is  a  growth  of  salmon-berry,  salal-berry, 
and  other  shrubs  and  tall  ferns,  making  an  almost 
impenetrable  mass,  so  dense  two  miles  is  a  good  day's 
travel,  on  courses,  for  a  woodsman. 

These  tracts,  where  the  timber  is  large,  have  few 
young  trees,  and  the  old  giants  are  over-ripe.  It  is 
doubtful  if  they  produce  seed,  and  doubtful  if  their 
growth  equals  their  decay  on  many  townships.  They 
cannot  be  thinned,  all  must  be  cut ;  any  left,  as  are  the 
hemlock,  and  until  recently  the  cedar,  are  broken  by 
the  falling  of  their  neighbors,  or  blown  down  when 
their  neighbors  are  gone. 

The  mountain  sides  have  deep  canyons  and  the 
foothills  are  steep,  and  jointly  they  are  most  of  the 
timber  area  of  western  Washington  and  Oregon. 
Methods  of  forestry  adapted  to  eastern  timber  areas 
are  useless  here,  as  are  eastern  methods  of  logging. 

The  first  efforts  to  handle  this  timber  were  those 
of  building  ''skid-roads"  up  the  gulches,  cutting  the 
timber  into  eastern  lengths,  12  to  24  feet,  and  then 
with  six  yoke  of  oxen  the  logs  were  hauled,  one  at  a 
time,  to  the  water.  In  those  days  there  was  no  de- 
mand for  cedar  or  hemlock,  and  both  were  left  in  the 
woods.  Neither  offered  the  per  cent,  of  clear  the  fir 
and  spruce  offered,  therefore  why  waste  time  on  the 
low  grades  ?  The  supply  looked  inexhaustible  ;  stand- 
ing timber  had  little  value;  butt  cuts  of  the  hemlock 
sometimes  sunk ;  customers  wanted  only  fir  and  spruce ; 
redwood  furnished  shingles;  why  then  use  low  grades 
or  hemlock? 

On  these  old  choppings  all  hemlock,  cedar,  low- 
grade  fir  and  low-grade  spruce  trees,  all  broken  cuts, 
all  butts  with  center  decay,  all  trees  with  ''conchs" — 
indicating  rot — all  stubs,  or  dead  trees,  with  loose  bark. 


American  Forest  Congress  155 

all  tops,  from  the  clear  trunk  up,  50  to  150  feet  in 
length,  20  to  60  inches  in  diameter,  all  these  were  left 
in  the  woods. 

As  if  fearful  of  taking  too  much  of  the  forest  to  the 
mill  the  timber  fallers  vied  with  each  other  to  place 
their  chopping  boards  higher,  and  many  a  stump,  16 
to  20  feet  in  height,  marks  the  success  of  their  efforts. 

The  aggregate  of  this  waste  reached  over  60  per 
cent,  of  the  forest  and  left  the  ground  covered  with 
tops,  broken  timber,  and  brush,  many  feet  in  thickness. 
To  this,  when  dry,  fire  was  set.  The  fire  killed  all 
timber  left  standing,  burned  any  young  trees  and  the 
hemlock  seeded  the  ground.  Later,  the  dead  hemlock 
fell,  and  a  few  years  after  the  first  fire,  a  second,  or 
even  a  third,  went  over  the  ground  and  the  hemlocks 
were  no  more.  Only  tops  and  trunks  and  a  desolate 
waste  was  left.  Then  the  ferns  and  blackberry  vines, 
as  if  to  hide  the  shame,  spread  over  all  their  mantle  of 
verdure. 

In  this  way,  and  by  fire  in  green  timber,  townships 
of  lands,  valuable  only  for  the  timber  crop,  have  be- 
come worthless  wastes.  Where  young  forests  should 
be  growing  to  keep  good  our  timber  acreas,  charred 
trunks  are  piled  on  trunks,  under  a  tangle  of  vines. 

Times  have  changed  somewhat.  Steam  skidders 
for  yarding,  and  steam  road  engines  for  hauling,  have 
replaced  the  bull  team.  The  railroad  is  fast  replacing 
the  river. 

Cedar  has  become  the  most  valuable  of  our  woods^ 
and  hemlock  is  found  to  be  our  most  beautiful  interior 
finish.  Standing  timber  has  a  greater  value  and  is 
cut  closer,  but  enormous  tops  and  most  of  the  hemlock 
are  still  left  in  the  woods.  Logs  with  no  clear  cannot 
be  handled  at  present  prices  of  lumber  without  loss. 
The  per  cent,  of  the  crop  now  saved  is  increased,  but 


156  Proce:edings  of  TH:^ 

40  per  cent,  is  still  wasted,  nor  is  it  the  worst.  These 
choppings,  with  their  continuous  piles  of  tinder,  are 
ready  to  flash  into  flame  from  the  spark  of  a  match,  and 
when  conditions  are  right  they  burn  with  a  heat  so 
intense  it  reaches  to  adjoining  green  trees,  and  they, 
burning  like  torches,  create  a  whirlwind  that,  with 
the  roar  of  an  avalanche,  twists  the  tops  from  the 
trunks. 

As  before  stated,  the  application  of  any  method  of 
forest  perpetuation  adapted  to  eastern  woods  is  im- 
possible, yet  most  of  the  country  where  these  forests 
grow,  is  valuable  only  for  a  timber  crop,  and  could  it 
be  reseeded  with  fir  and  spruce  when  cut,  and  fire 
kept  out,  at  the  end  of  fifty  years  there  could  be  har- 
vested a  second  crop  of  50,000  to  100,000  feet  per 
acre.  The  things  necessary  to  accomplish  that  end 
appear  at  present  almost  impossible.     They  are : 

First,  that  all  timber  growing  on  the  land  be  cut. 

Second,  that  all  timber  be  removed. 

Third,  that  all  left  be  burned. 

Fourth,  that  the  seed,  of  the  timber  wanted,  be 
sowed  in  the  ashes. 

After  this  is  done,  the  danger  of  fire  is  so  small  it 
need  not  be  considered. 

Our  seasons  are  sometimes  divided,  by  strangers, 
into  two,  the  wet  season  and  the  month  of  August. 
Vegetation,  therefore,  is  of  very  rapid  growth,  and 
before  another  August,  the  ground  would  be  too  well 
covered  to  become  dry,  therefore  no  fires  would  run. 

To  teach  the  people  to  utilize  the  product  of  our 
forest,  so  as  to  clear  the  land  of  all  things  of  value, 
is  one  of  the  great  duties  of  those  who  are  anxious  to 
see  our  forests  perpetuated.  The  fir  tops  of  our 
woods  are  sound,  and  sound  knotted,  and  more  durable 
for  mining  timber  and  railway  ties  than  are  the  hearts 


Ame:rican  Forest  Congress  157 

of  our  logs,  now  furnished  for  these  purposes,  but  they 
are  worth  in  railroad  ties,  at  this  writing,  less  than 
$6.00  per  thousand  feet  of  manufactured  lumber, 
while  the  cost  of  hauling  and  sawing  exceeds  that 
figure.  Then,  too,  while  hauling  one  of  these  tops. 
a  surface  clear  log  could  be  hauled,  worth  $6.50  or 
$7.00  per  thousand  feet,  against  $3.50  per  thousand 
for  the  top  in  question.  Again,  while  sawing  this 
top  into  $6.00  lumber  the  mill  could  have  sawed  a 
$7.00  log  into  lumber,  of  which  40  per  cent,  would 
be  clear,  40  per  cent,  good  building  grades,  and  only 
20  per  cent.  $6,00  lumber.  Sawing  the  top  the  ''saw" 
bill  would  be  $2.50;  on  the  good  log  perhaps  $5.00 
or  $6.00  per  thousand  feet,  and  the  same  is  true  of 
the  hemlock,  yet  the  hemlock  is  the  best  of  box  ma- 
terial, and  the  small  per  cent,  of  clear,  different  entirely 
from  eastern  woods  of  the  same  name,  is  a  beautiful 
interior  finish. 

Were  we  a  little  nearer  the  great  markets  of  the 
United  States,  or  were  our  freight  rates  less,  or  were 
the  demand  a  little  larger,  these  tops  and  hemlock 
could  be  handled,  and  the  greatest  difficulty  in  perpet- 
uating our  forests  thus  removed. 

The  bark  of  this  hemlock  is  superior  in  tanning 
qualities ;  tanning  extract  plants  would  help  solve  the 
problem;  pulp  mills  could  use  to  advantage  our  hem- 
lock and  waste  spruce ;  fir  tops,  stumps,  and  roots  are 
well  supplied  with  pitch,  and  experiments  indicate  the 
values  obtained  from  those  sources  in  turpentine,  tar, 
pitch,  rosin,  wood  alcohol,  creosote,  lamp  black  and 
charcoal,  and  other  chemicals,  are  greater  than  the 
balance  of  the  tree  affords  in  lumber.  Short  lengths 
of  our  cedar  make  shingles ;  short  lengths  of  our 
spruce  make  staves;  short  lengths  of  our  fir  make 
porch   flooring   and   car   siding;   fir   bark   and   limbs 


158  Proceedings  oi'  the 

should  have  a  vakie ;  when  our  timber  is  utiUzed  as 
our  cattle  and  hogs  are  utilized,  and  every  part  saved, 
the  other  things  required  to  perpetuate  our  western 
Washington  forest  will  follow  as  good  investments. 

To  the  perfecting  and  teaching  of  these  methods, 
therefore,  we  should  turn  the  attention  of  our  Gov- 
ernment, our  chemists,  and  those  who  desire  the  per- 
petuation of  our  forests.  By  such  methods  our  lands 
would  be  placed  in  the  best  condition  for  future  timber 
crops,  and  those  crops  could  be  fir,  spruce,  cedar,  black 
walnut,  ash,  or  maple,  and  any  of  these  would  be 
ready  to  harvest  before  our  present  timber  is  exhausted. 

Tardy  forest  reserves  make  possible  wise  provisions 
for  the  disposition  and  perpetuation  of  the  small  rem- 
nant of  our  timber  still  in  the  hands  of  the  Govern- 
ment, but  laws  for  the  use  and  perpetuation  of  this 
timber  must  vary  with  location.  No  rule  of  selection 
can  be  applied  to  western  Washington  or  western 
Oregon ;  no  rule  of  clean  cutting  and  reseeding  can 
be  applied  to  eastern  Washington  or  eastern  Oregon. 
Western  Washington  and  western  Oregon  rainwall  and 
water  supply  are  excessive,  and  need  not  be  considered ; 
eastern  Washington  and  eastern  Oregon  need  first 
consideration  be  given  to  these  questions;  a  general 
law,  to  apply  to  the  cutting  and  perpetuating  of  the 
timber  on  all  Government  reserves,  would  prove  as 
wrong  as  have  our  laws  in  their  application  to  these 
areas. 

To  these  pathless  jungles,  where  no  man  could  live 
except  upon  provisions  packed  upon  his  back,  where 
to  make  a  clearing  of  an  acre  costs  labor  worth  $200 
and  destroys  timber  worth  $50  more;  where  the  sun 
sends  but  pencils  of  light,  and  the  fallen  timber,  of 
centuries  back,  is  as  sound  as  if  always  submerged; 
where  the  surface  is  made  up  of  gulches,  canyons,  and 


Ame:rican  Forest  Congress  159 

mountain  sides;  where  agriculture  is  impossible,  and 
the  only  value  is  timber,  our  Government  extended  its 
Homestead  and  Pre-emption  laws,  framed  for  our 
prairies.  To  acquire  title  one  was  supposed  to  settle 
on  the  land,  make  it  his  home,  make  a  clearing,  plant 
a  crop,  build  a  house,  and  maintain  a  residence. 

To  acquire  title,  therefore,  he  must  waste  time  which 
should  go  to  the  increasing  of  our  national  wealth, 
must  destroy  a  portion  of  the  timber,  to  which  he  is 
striving  to  obtain  title,  and  thus  destroy  national 
wealth,  must  deprive  his  family  of  his  support,  must 
live  in  danger  of  falling  trees,  of  accidents,  with  no 
one  near,  or  he  must  perjure  himself,  and  little  wonder 
he  did  the  latter,  when  by  doing  so  he  only  chose 
between  evils,  and  chose  the  one  of  least  real  harm. 
Not  quite  perjured  himself,  for  he  could  cut  some 
brush,  set  out  a  few  fruit  trees  in  the  forest  and  a 
few  cabbages,  visit  the  "claim"  every  six  months,  pack 
in  a  half  window  for  his  ''shake  shack,"  leave  an  axe 
and  a  fry-pan  there,  and  thus  ease  his  conscience  and 
those  of  his  witnesses  when  the  day  of  final  proof 
arrived. 

In  this  proof  he  had  to  swear  the  land  was  ''chiefly 
valuable  for  agricultural  purposes,"  but  the  decision 
of  the  General  Land  Office  eased  his  conscience  by 
declaring  all  land  "not  stony  or  gravelly  was  argri- 
cultural,"  yet  during  his  lifetime  he  never  expected 
to  see  anything  grown  on  this  land  but  timber.  Pub- 
lic opinion  approved  such  an  evasion  of  a  ridiculous 
law,  and  our  Government,  not  the  settlers,  should  be 
investigated  when  complaint  has  been  made,  by  a  less 
fortunate,  and  the  clearing  has  been  hard  to  find  and 
the  house  does  not  look  as  if  ever  used  for  a  home. 

Our  timber  act  was  more  just,  but  framed  in  the 
interest  of  land  grabbers.     These  stood  ready  to  loan 


i6o  Proce:e:dings  of  the; 

money  needed  to  pay  for  the  land,  perhaps  without 
exacting  a  promise,  so  the  claimant  could  swear  "he 
took  the  land  for  his  own  exclusive  use  and  profit" 
and  "had  not  promised  to  mortgage  or  deed."  Later 
he  could  change  his  mind. 

Still  more  ridiculous  and  criminally  wrong  was  the 
lieu  land  law,  by  which  anyone  claiming  within  a 
forest  reserve,  relinquished  to  the  Government,  and 
selected  equal  areas  outside  the  reserve. 

Floating  on  Puget  Sound  upon  a  summer's  day, 
when  gentle  zephyrs  fill  the  sail  of  the  boat,  one's 
languid  gaze  wanders  back  over  vast  areas  of  dense, 
dark  green  woodlands,  on  up  the  slopes  of  the  moun- 
tains, vmtil  arrested  by  the  towering  snow-cap  of 
Rainier,  14,000  feet  above;  to  the  south,  not  seen, 
stand  St.  Helen,  Adams,  Hood,  and  Jefferson,  of 
nearly  equal  height,  and  to  the  west  glisten  the  Olympic 
range  with  long  reaches  of  snow-capped  peaks.  Part 
of  these  peaks  are  in  the  Rainier,  part  in  the  Olympic 
and  part  in  the  Cascade  reserve,  and  part  are  also 
within  railroad  grants,  and  for  these  glaciers  and  rocks 
our  Government  has  exchanged  some  of  her  best  tim- 
bered townships.  Along  the  lower  side  of  some  of 
these  mountains,  loggers  have  been  busy  with  axe  and 
fire,  and  for  their  denuded,  fire-swept  lands,  our  Gov- 
ernment has  given  fresh  timbered  areas.  Many  men 
who  have  secured  a  quarter  section,  under  the 
Homestead  or  Pre-emption  or  Timber  Act,  have  been 
investigated  for  fraud.  These  larger  selections  are 
authorized  by  Act  of  Congress  and  have  not  been 
questioned. 

In  the  home  of  the  fir,  the  spruce,  and  the  cedar,  the 
song  of  the  axe,  the  saw,  and  the  hammer  begins  with 
the  dawn  and  rests  only  with  the  close  of  the  day. 
Go  where  you  will  the  crop  of  the  centuries  is  being 


Ame:rican  Forest  Congress  i6i 

harvested.  With  each  breath  a  monarch  of  the  forest 
falls;  engines  whistle  to  engines,  as  the  huge  trunks 
of  these  noble  trees  are  dragged  to  the  water  or  to  the 
railroad;  the  locomotive  v/histles  to  the  mill,  as  it 
comes  with  long  trains  of  wealth  of  our  forests,  and 
the  mill  whistles  back  to  the  locomotive,  as  its  saws 
sing  while  they  work ;  steamers  for  coastwise  and  trains 
for  eastern  markets  whistle  back  to  the  mill,  as  they 
hasten  with  its  product;  the  deep  loaded  ship  spreads 
its  sail  and  the  winds  vvaft  our  lumber  to  the  far 
corners  of  the  earth;  in  all  ways  the  harvest  goes 
merrily  on,  and  the  song  of  the  axe,  the  saw,  and  the 
hammer,  are  sweet  to  the  ears  of  our  people,  for  they 
sing  of  industry,  prosperity,  and  happy  homes. 

But  is  there  no  other  note  in  the  song?  Do  these 
people  ever  think  of  the  centuries  their  crop  has  been 
growing?  Does  it  never  occur  to  them  they  are  the 
trustees  of  an  heritage  for  future  generations,  to  be 
guarded,  cared  for  and  watched,  used  from  sparingly 
as  necessity  requires,  or  price  justifies,  but  not  to  be 
wantonly  wasted  or  destroyed,  or  disposed  of  without 
adequate  returns?  And  how  are  they  fulfilling  their 
trust? 

They  are  leaving  nearly  half  of  the  crop  in  the 
woods  to  be  burned,  and  burning,  destroy  more,  and 
for  the  half  they  are  marketing  they  are  obtaining  no 
proper  equivalent.  They  are  leaving  the  ground  a 
fire-swept,  desolate  waste,  where  fire  will  follow  fire, 
until  all  things  valuable  have  been  destroyed.  They 
are  taking  to  themselves  the  whole  of  the  heritage 
entrusted  to  them,  and  in  return  are  not  even  scatter- 
ing a  few  seeds  for  the  benefit  of  their  children.  They 
are  vandals,  but  no  law  can  reach  them.  They  would 
be  adjudged  insane,  except  for  the  necessity  which 
governs.  The  sacred  right  of  property  is  theirs,  and 
they  can  do  as  they  will  with  their  own. 


i62  Proce:edings  of  the 

They  can  only  be  reached,  and  these  grave  errors 
corrected,  by  making  other  methods  to  their  pecuniary 
interest;  teach  them,  therefore,  the  value  of  their  tim- 
ber ;  show  them  ways  of  turning  their  waste  to  profit ; 
send  to  them  pulp  mills,  chemical  works  and  tanning 
extract  plants;  help  them  to  show  the  transcontinental 
railroads  the  short-sighted  policy  they  are  pursuing; 
build  for  them  a  double  track  road  and  give  to  them 
lower  freight  rates  and  from  that,  now  wasted,  they 
will  furnish  ties  for  the  North,  boxes  for  the  Middle 
West,  cheaper  lumber  for  your  homes,  perpetuate  their 
forests,  operate  their  mills  through  the  centuries,  and 
the  song  of  the  axe,  the  saw,  and  the  hammer  will  have 
no  note  of  discord  and  continue  in  the  land  of  the  fir, 
the  spruce,  and  the  cedar. 


THE   ADVANCE    IN    THE    VALUE   OF 
STUMPAGE 

BY 

JAMES  T.  BARBER 

President  Northwestern  Lumber  Company,  Wisconsin 

'X'HE  selection  of  the  writer  to  furnish  for  your  con- 
sideration information  on  this  subject,  necessarily 
confines  the  question  to  the  value  of  white  pine  stump- 
age  in  Wisconsin,  as  his  experience  and  observation 
have  been  confined  to  this  quality  of  timber  and  to 
this  locality.  Every  one,  at  all  familiar  with  timber 
values,  knows  that  the  advance  in  white  pine  stumpage 
in  this  State  in  the  past  thirty  years,  has  been  phe- 
nomenal, but  few  realize  its  full  extent.  This  advance 
has  been  peculiar  when  compared  to  other  property, 
in  that,  while  the  increase  in  values  has  not  been 
regular  and  continual,  the  market  price  of  pine  stump- 
age  has  never  taken  a  step  backward.  Every  change 
in  prices,  from  year  to  year,  has  been  upward. 

Perhaps  as  good  an  illustration  of  the  increase  in 
values  of  this  class  of  property,  covering  practically  the 
entire  period  of  development  of  extensive  lumbering 
operations  in  Wisconsin,  is  the  experience  of  Cornell 
University.  In  1862  the  Congress  of  the  United  States 
apportioned  over  9,000,000  acres  of  land  to  the  differ- 
ent States,  the  proceeds  of  which  were  to  be  devoted, 
by  the  several  States,  to  the  establishing  and  mainte- 
nance of  schools  and  colleges  in  which  such  branches 
of  learning  as  are  related  to  agriculture  should  be 
taught.  Scrip,  called  Agricultural  College  Scrip,  was 
issued  to  the  several  States  and  by  them  placed  upon 


104  Proceedings  oe  the 

the  market.  In  1865  this  scrip  sold  at  fifty  cents  per 
acre,  and  in  1866  Honorable  Ezra  Cornell,  who  had 
previously  founded  and  endowed  Cornell  University, 
at  Ithaca,  New  York,  bought  something  over  500,000 
acres  of  this  scrip  from  the  State  of  New  York,  paying 
therefore  60  cents  an  acres  for  the  account  of  the 
University.  At  this  time  the  college  was  not  in  a 
financial  condition  to  purchase  and  locate  this  large 
amount  of  property,  and  Mr.  Cornell  assumed  to  pay 
for  the  scrip  and  also  the  expense  of  locating  it  on 
pine  lands  in  Wisconsin.  This  action  was  taken,  and 
so  well  was  the  work  done  that  the  scrip  cost  of  the 
pine  stumpage  was  from  six  to  ten  cents  per  thousand 
feet. 

In  1874,  shortly  before  Mr.  Cornell  died,  he  turned 
over  the  property  to  the  University,  and  at  that  time 
the  cost,  including  all  expenses,  was  over  $500,000,  or 
possibly  fifteen  cents  per  thousand  feet.  Shortly  after 
the  University  took  charge,  a  systematic  efifort  was 
made  to  dispose  of  the  timber,  and  at  the  close  of 
1882,  the  aggregate  sales  amounted  to  $3,700,000,  this 
including  the  first  large  sale  of  100,000  acres  at  $4 
per  acre,  or,  say,  thirty  to  forty  cents  per  thousand 
feet,  made  in  1873.  At  this  time  the  cost  of  the 
property,  including  taxes  and  all  other  expenses,  had 
risen  to  $2,200,000. 

The  University  has  now  practically  closed  out  its 
timber  holdings  in  Wisconsin,  and  the  net  result  of  the 
purchase  of  the  500,000  acres  by  Mr.  Cornell,  in  1866, 
at  sixty  cents  per  acre,  after  deducting  cost  of  the 
scrip  and  locating  the  same,  taxes,  and  all  other  ex- 
penses, was  within  a  very  few  dollars  of  $5,500,000. 
The  University  property  was  wonderfully  well  handled, 
the  top  of  the  market  being  obtained  in  almost  every 
sale.     It  has  only  been  within  the  last  few  years  that 


American  Forest  Congress  165 

any  other  value  than  that  of  pine  stumpage  was  placed 
upon  their  lands.  Some  of  the  more  recent  sales  of 
pine  have  been  on  the  basis  of  ten  and  tv^elve  dollars 
per  thousand  and  on  estimates  including  much  timber 
v^diich  would  not  have  been  considered  at  all  ten  years 
ago. 

Representatives  from  the  South  can  easily  remember 
the  twenty  and  thirty  cent  period,  although  it  soon 
recedes  into  ancient  history  as  they  count  their  present 
three  and  four  dollar  values,  and  even  our  friends  from 
the  Coast,  as  they  watch  those  beautiful  fir  trees  go 
into  logs  and  $1.00  and  $1.50  stumpage,  can  smile  as 
they  recall  the  purchase  at  ten  and  fifteen  cents. 

Is  it  too  much  to  ask  you  to  believe  that  the  history 
of  Wisconsin  will  repeat  itself  in  the  South  and  West, 
and  that  the  timbers  owners  of  those  regions  may 
watch  the  continual  advance  of  values  until  at  least  the 
ten  dollar  and  twelve  dollar  epoch  arrives? 


IMPORTANCE  OF  LUMBER  STATISTICS 

BY 
GEORGE  K.  SMITH 

Secretary  National  Lumber  Manufacturers  Association 

I  N  the  lumber  industry,  as  in  all  others,  the  con- 
stantly recurring  questions  to  be  answered  daily, 
monthly  and  annually,  are  "How  much?"  and  'TIow 
many?"  In  order  that  the  manager  of  a  manufactur- 
ing plant  may  have  the  means  of  answering  these  ques- 
tions, daily  reports  from  each  department  are  made, 
weekly  statements  are  prepared,  monthly  summaries 
are  compiled,  and  annual  reports  are  evolved.  Such 
collections  of  figures  as  these  are  known  by  the  general 
term  of  "statistics."  The  original  use  of  the  word 
was  confined  to  the  enumeration  of  persons,  but  cus- 
tom has  made  it  apply  to  any  systematic  collection  of 
figures. 

In  a  most  valuable  and  comprehensive  paper  entitled 
"Stumpage,"  read  by  R.  A.  Long,  of  Kansas  City, 
at  the  thirteenth  annual  meeting  of  the  Southern  Lum- 
ber Manufacturers'  Association,  New  Orleans,  Janu- 
ary, 1903,  this  sentence  was  used,  "Knowledge  is  an 
asset,  the  result  of  which  is  profit."  For  the  purpose 
of  this  discussion,  let  us  paraphrase  this  sentence  and 
say,  "Statistics  are  an  asset,  the  result  of  which  is 
profit,  and  the  lack  of  them  a  liability,  the  result  of 
which  is  loss/' 

In  order  that  we  may  learn  how  this  asset  is  acquired, 
let  us  ask  the  manager  of  a  large  plant,  how  much  it 
costs  to  produce  1,000  feet  of  lumber,  the  unit  of  all 


American   Forest  Congress  167 

lumber  transaction,  and  follow  him  as  he  refers  to 
various  reports  to  prepare  the  answer. 

First,  the  actual  or  arbitrary  price  of  stumpage ;  then 
the  log  cutters,  log  haulers,  the  scalers,  loading  crew, 
and  log  train  reports  combined,  give  the  figures  of  the 
raw  material  in  the  pond;  the  scale  sheets  on  the  log- 
deck,  or  the  tally  sheet  at  the  tail  of  the  mill,  gives  the 
daily  output;  then  comes  yard  and  dry-kilns,  planing 
mill  and  loading  dock,  and  the  shipping  ticket  is  ready 
for  the  invoice  clerk. 

With  additions  to  cover  the  proper  portions  for 
superintendence,  insurance,  interest,  taxes,  and  depre- 
ciation, the  manager  has  a  dozen  or  fifteen  items  whose 
sum  is  the  desired  answer.  He  has  done  so  well  in 
promptly  supplying  the  desired  information  that  we 
follow  with  another  "how  much  ?"  This  time  it  is : 
"How  much  lumber  do  you  make  each  month?" 

The  saw-mill  reports  are  consulted,  and  if  steady 
time  has  been  made,  twenty-five  or  twenty-six  items 
are  added,  and  the  result  announced.  Then  comes  the 
total  cut  and  shipments  for  the  year,  with  total  cost, 
and  gross  and  net  receipts,  and  the  systematic  collec- 
tion of  figures  called  "statistics"  is  ready  for  the  annual 
meeting,  to  be  discussed  and  digested  by  the  directors. 

These  figures  are  of  the  utmost  importance  to  the 
stockholders  for  they  reflect  in  concrete  form  the  profit 
or  loss  for  the  year.  Every  efifort  is  made  to  have 
them  correct,  and  they  are  carefully  preserved  to  be 
compared  with  the  next  series,  month  by  month. 

In  the  operation  of  a  single  plant  statistics  can  be 
easily  obtained,  because  the  manager  has  power  to 
control  all  departments  in  his  own  immediate  circle. 
In  speaking  of  the  "circle"  of  the  single  operation,  a 
diagram  is  suggested  which  represents  the  lumber 
producing  field  in  its  entirety.     This  diagram  consists 


i68  Proceedings  of  the 

of  three  circles ;  the  first  containing  the  single  saw 
mill ;  a  larger  circle  including  hundreds  of  small  ones — 
the  mills  producing  one  kind  of  lumber ;  and  the  third, 
one  which  includes  both  the  others,  and  its  area  em- 
braces all  the  other  lumber  mills  in  the  United  States. 

In  studying  the  annual  report,  one  of  the  directors 
notices  that  the  amount  of  lumber  on  hand  is  much 
larger  than  in.  former  years,  and  because  the  profits 
are  still  in  lumber  and  not  in  cash,  he  asks  the  reason 
for  the  increase.  To  answer  this,  and  if  possible 
justify  the  condition,  the  manager  must  get  figures 
outside  the  circle  of  his  plant,  and  show  how  much 
other  mills  have. 

Foreseeing  such  a  question,  and  realizing  that  it 
would  be  difficult  for  each  mill  to  gather  information 
systematically  from  all  the  other  mills  cutting  a  similar 
kind  of  lumber,  the  manager  has  already  called  his 
neighbors  together  and  formed  an  association  to  gather 
statistics  regarding  stocks  on  hand.  By  consulting  the 
figures  furnished  him  from  the  headquarters  of  this 
association,  he  finds  the  mills  in  the  "second"  circle 
have  more  lumber  than  a  year  ago,  and  a  summary 
of  their  stocks  on  hand  shows  a  total  increase  of 
200,000,000  feet.  The  sales  agent  for  the  company 
is  present,  and  is  asked  what  effect  this  increase  of 
stock  on  hand  will  have  on  values.  He  has  not  only 
studied  the  situation  in  the  second  circle,  but  has  looked 
beyond  into  the  third  circle,  and  has  discovered  that 
the  statistics  of  competitive  woods,  so  far  as  he  can 
learn,  show  a  similar  situation  existing,  and  reports 
values  in  general,  weak  and  declining. 

When  the  information  resulting  from  statistics  is 
revealed  to  the  directors,  its  importance  and  value  is 
recognized,  a  basis  for  intelligent  action  is  secured, 
and  instead  of  increasing  their  output,  as  originally 


American  Forest  Congress  169 

planned,  they  arrange  to  produce  even  less  than  their 
average,  until  their  visible  supply  is  reduced  to  normal 
proportions. 

.After  deciding  on  a  course  of  action  for  the  coming 
year,  they  fall  into  general  conversation  for  a  few 
minutes,  when  a  new  line  of  thought  is  opened  by  the 
questions  ''How  many  acres  of  timber  did  we  cut  this 
year?"  and  "How  much  timber  have  we  standing?" 
Here  is  need  of  more  statistics  and  the  manager  con- 
sults maps  and  records,  and  soon  reports  the  exact 
conditions.  As  the  amount  is  large,  some  one  asks 
how  much  timber  is  there  in  the  State,  and  what 
per  cent,  of  it  do  they  own?  They  call  for  statistics 
on  this  particular  feature,  but  as  the  manager  has  not 
promoted  an  association  for  this  purpose,  he  cannot 
answer.  One  of  the  directors  has  anticipated  such  a 
question,  and  produces  Volume  IX  of  the  twelfth 
census,  containing  special  reports  on  selected  indus- 
tries, lumber  and  timber,  covering  pages  805  to  897. 
In  this  he  finds,  on  page  840,  the  estimated  total 
amount  of  timber  in  the  State,  and  the  percentage  of 
their  holdings  is  determined. 

Having  discussed  the  operation  in  the  first  circle, 
and  noted  the  answers  given,  and  the  stock  conditions 
at  the  mills  in  the  second,  we  naturally  advance  into 
the  third  circle  and  put  the  question  ''How  much?" 
as  applied  to  the  entire  industry. 

Before  answering  this,  let  us  notice  how  the  elabo- 
rate statements  of  the  individual  operation,  in  the  first 
circle,  are  condensed  for  use  in  the  second  circle.  All 
of  the  figures  and  reports  used  in  producing  the  first 
exhibit  of  total  cut,  total  shipments,  and  stock  on  hand, 
are  discarded,  and  these  three  items  from  every  plant 
in  the  second  circle,  form  the  basis  of  the  answer  we 
are  now  seeking. 


170  Procee:dings  of  the: 

Large  figures  are  needed  to  describe  the  lumber 
manufacturing  plants,  the  amount  produced  annually, 
and  the  amount  of  standing  timber.  Thirty-three 
thousand  and  thirty-five  establishments  were  in  opera- 
tion in  1900,  and  produced  35,084,160,000  feet,  board 
measure,  in  that  year. 

Ten  kinds  of  timber,  counting  all  hardwoods  as  one, 
show  a  total  of  1,240,000,000,000  feet  available  for 
lumbering.  These  figures  are  interesting  and  impor- 
tant, but  nowhere  do  we  find  the  amount  of  lumber 
consumed  annually,  and  the  amount  on  hand  at  the 
beginning  of  each  year;  or,  in  other  words,  what 
proportion  of  the  thirty-five  billions  was  used  during 
the  calendar  year,  and  what  per  cent,  remained  on 
hand. 

Attempts  are  made  by  the  twelve  lumber  manufac- 
turers' associations  composing  the  ''National  Lumber 
Manufacturers'  Association,"  to  procure  these  figures, 
but  of  the  thirty-five  billions  shown  to  be  produced, 
less  than  one-half  is  accounted  for  by  these  twelve 
associations.  The  need  for,  and  the  importance  of 
exact  information  as  to  the  total  amount  of  lumber 
in  the  hands  of  the  manufacturers  at  the  beginning 
of  each  year  will  eventually  draw  all  lumber  producers 
together,  and  instead  of  depending  almost  entirely  on 
a  census  report  published  once  in  five  years,  they  will 
have  figures  of  their  own  annually,  on  which  to  base 
their  calculations. 

Already  steps  have  been  taken  to  secure  the  names 
of  33,000  manufacturers  of  lumber,  and  obtain  annual 
reports  from  them,  covering  the  three  essential  points, 
viz.,  the  amount  produced,  the  amount  sent  forward 
to  the  consumer,  and  the  amount  of  stock  on  hand 
when   annual    inventories   are   taken. 

The  importance  and  value  of  such  statistics  can  be 


American  Forest  Congress  171 

illustrated  by  relating  the  experience  of  manufacturers 
of  one  kind  of  lumber,  who  for  several  years  have  made 
a  systematic  collection  of  figures.  During  a  period 
of  nine  months  stocks  among  200  mills  increased 
150,000,000  feet. 

These  figures  were  obtained  in  two  ways — by  a 
record  of  the  excess  of  cut  over  shipments,  showing 
a  steady  increase  each  month,  and  a  semi-annual  in- 
ventory compared  with  the  inventory  of  January  ist. 
These  statistics  revealed  a  serious  situation,  and  were 
the  cause  of  an  early  meeting,  at  which  it  was  decided 
that  less  lumber  should  be  produced  until  the  visible 
supply  was  reduced  to  normal  amount. 

The  argument  is  used  by  some  that  such  conditions, 
as  were  revealed  by  the  figures  just  quoted,  should  be 
allowed  to  correct  themselves — let  the  disease  run  its 
course — but  in  these  days  of  growing  scarcity  of 
stumpage,  with  only  one  crop  in  sight,  the  majority 
believe  that  reliable  statistics,  showing  a  heavy  accu- 
mulation of  stock,  should  serve  as  a  danger  flag,  and 
the  speed  of  production  be  reduced  until  the  rough 
part  of  the  road  has  been  passed. 

To  continue  production  up  to  full  capacity,  when 
undisputed  evidence  is  produced  that  a  large  surplus 
already  exists,  is  unwise  and  unprofitable,  and  an  un- 
necessary sacrifice  of  stumpage,  which  on  account  of 
our  steady  increase  in  population  and  consuming 
territory,  is  becoming  more  valuable  every  year. 

The  importance  attached  to  statistics  in  other  com- 
modities is  well  illustrated  by  the  annual  report  of  the 
statistician  for  the  Department  of  Agriculture,  for  the 
fiscal  year  1903- 1904,  published  in  the  December  issue 
of  the  Crop  Reporter.  The  fact  that  our  Government 
has  made  the  Census  Bureau  continuous  in  its  organi- 
zation, and  reduced  the  period  of  census  returns  from 


1/2  Proce^edings  of  the 

one  in  ten  to  one  in  five  years,  is  another  evidence  of 
the  importance  of  up-to-date  statistics. 

The  steady  growth  of  all  lumber  associations,  having 
for  their  object  systematic  gathering  and  compiling 
of  figures  in  the  three  circles,  is  the  best  proof  of  the 
importance  of  statistics,  and  when  all  manufacturers 
realize  their  bearing  on  the  individual  operation,  and 
on  the  group  of  mills,  and  on  the  combined  whole, 
some  broad  association  now  organized,  or  yet  to  be 
born,  covering  the  entire  industry,  will  be  able  to  give 
what  every  producer  is  waiting  for,  correct  statistics 
relative  to  production,  consumption,  and  visible  supply, 
which  are  the  three  factors  governing  values. 

These  facts  are  of  sufficient  importance  to  warrant 
united  and  persistent  effort  to  secure  them. 

Such  gatherings  as  this  Congress,  tend  to  hasten 
the  day  when  the  manufacturers  of  lumber,  and  owners 
of  stumpage,  will  work  closer  together,  and  determine 
annually  how  rapidly  our  forest  resources  are  dimin- 
ishing, and  thus  realize  more  and  more  the  "Importance 
of  Statistics  in  the  Lumber  Industry." 


OPPORTUNITIES    FOR    LUMBERING    IN 
THE  PHILIPPINE  ISLANDS 

BY 

CAPTAIN  GEORGE  P.  AHERN 

Chief  Philippine  Bureau  of  Forestry 

T  N  1876  the  Spanish  officials  estimated  the  forest  area 
of  the  Phihppines  at  51,537,243  acres.  In  1890 
Fernando  Castro  estimated  it  at  48,112,920  acres. 

The  forests  of  these  islands  are  unlike  those  usually 
found  in  temperate  climes,  in  that  no  one  species, 
except  the  genus  pinus,  is  found  in  pure  different 
stands.  A  stand  containing  forty  species  or  more  to 
the  acre  is  not  uncommon.  Such  forests  are  naturally 
cut  by  the  so-called  ''selection"  system.  The  trees 
removed  in  selection  cuttings  are  those  from  24  to  40 
inches,  thus  leaving  in  the  forest  only  young  trees  too 
small  to  cut,  and  over-mature  trees,  which  are  generally 
defective  and  which  should  have  been  the  first  ones 
removed,  as  the  timber  of  the  same  becomes  less 
valuable  each  year.  The  seeds  of  these  old  trees — 
the  source  of  reproduction — generally  do  not  repro- 
duce as  vigorous  seedlings  as  do  seeds  from  trees  in 
the  prime  of  life. 

Under  the  native  methods  of  lumbering,  after  the 
felling  of  the  medium-sized  trees  of  desirable  classes, 
we  generally  find  left  on  each  acre  a  great  number  of 
trees  which  have  very  little  present  merchantable  value. 
These  present  a  serious  difficulty  in  that  these  trees 
frequently  bear  a  greater  amount  of  seed,  and  at  an 
earlier  age  than  do  trees  of  the  better  species.  In  mark- 
ing and  selecting  trees  for  felling,  the  forester  attempts 


174  Proceedings  o^  the 

to  avoid  the  above  bad  defects  of  cutting  by  insisting 
upon  the  removal  of  as  much  of  the  poorer  grades  as 
possible,  and  attempts  to  aid  the  reproduction  of  better 
species  in  every  possible  way. 

No  complete  survey  of  standing  timber  in  the  islands 
has  ever  been  made.  No  record  can  be  found  of  any 
such  work  having  been  attempted  during  the  Spanish 
administration.  Since  the  organization  of  the  present 
Bureau,  this  work  has  been  commenced  in  six  prov- 
inces, in  virgin  forests  as  well  as  in  regions  that  have 
been  severely  cut.  At  the  same  time,  vigorous  work 
is  being  done  towards  acquiring  a  knowledge  of  the 
forests  everywhere  in  the  islands.  A  large  herbarium 
is  being  formed  through  the  efforts  of  between  15  and 
20  botanists,  collectors,  and  foresters.  We  find  up- 
wards of  400  different  tree  species  within  a  limited 
area;  and  it  is  estimated  that  from  1,200  to  1,500 
different  tree  species  will  be  found  in  the  islands.  Be- 
tween 500  and  700  different  tree  species  are  brought 
into  the  market  each  year,  of  which  about  40  are 
well  known.  A  detailed  study  of  these  40  species 
is  being  made,  both  by  the  botanists  and  foresters. 

An  effort  is  being  made  to  study  many  of  the  native 
woods  that  are  not  well  known  in  the  market,  but 
which  occur  frequently,  and  which  the  foresters  report 
are  not  popular  with  the  native  lumbermen.  To  study 
these  woods,  a  factory  has  been  started  at  Manila  as 
part  of  the  work  of  the  Bureau  of  Forestry,  where 
some  40  or  more  Filipino  cabinet-makers  and  carpen- 
ters work  under  the  supervision  of  three  American 
expert  cabinet-makers.  In  this  way  a  number  of 
woods  have  been  worked  up  in  various  ways  so  as  to 
show  their  utility  and  beauty.  The  work  of  this  fac- 
tory is  to  be  transferred  to  Bilibid  prison,  where  150 
or  200  men  will  be  employed.     Foresters  and  lumber- 


American  Forest  Congress  175 

men  of  each  district  are  asked  to  send  in  samples  of 
native  woods  which  are  found  in  large  quantities,  and 
which  are  not  popular  in  the  market,  so  that  investiga- 
tion may  bring  out  some  further  utility  or  beauty  which 
would  make  them  more  popular.  The  articles  made 
from  these  woods  are  sold,  thus  helping  to  defray  the 
expense  of  this  investigation ;  at  the  same  time  a  large 
number  of  Filipinos  are  being  trained  in  the  art  of 
cabinet  making. 

Of  the  48,000,000  acres  of  woodland  in  the  islands, 
there  are  at  least  20,000,000  acres  of  virgin  public 
forest.  Valuation  surveys  by  our  foresters  bring  out 
the  fact  that  in  this  virgin  forest  there  is  an  average 
stand  of  3,500  cubic  feet  of  merchantable  timber  on 
each  acre.  It  is  safe  to  assume  that  there  is  at  least 
1,500  cubic  feet  of  timber  on  each  acre  which  could 
be  marketed  at  once,  and  probably  much  of  the  re- 
mainder, it  will  be  found,  can  be  used,  after  the 
investigation  in  our  workshops  is  concluded. 

We  find  no  merchantable  timber,  and  but  very  little 
woodland,  close  to  the  centers  of  population.  Thickly 
populated  islands,  like  Cebu  and  Panay,  are  almost 
completely  stripped  of  their  timber;  and  in  many  of 
the  other  islands  the  good  timber  has  been  cut  away 
for  about  five  miles  from  the  coast  line.  In  other 
islands  we  find  the  virgin  forest  extending  down  to  the 
water's  edge. 

During  the  fiscal  year  1904,  about  50,000,000  feet 
B.  M.  of  native  timber  were  brought  to  market, 
while  about  30,000,000  feet  of  timber  were  imported 
from  the  United  States,  Australia,  and  Borneo.  Much 
more  timber  would  be  used  in  the  islands  if  the  price 
were  a  little  lower.  The  lowest  grade  of  lumber  is 
now  worth  $35  to  $40  per  M. 

The  forest  wealth  of  the  islands,  especially  in  those 


176  PrOCKIvDINGS    01?    THE 

parts  where  no  operations  have  been  carried  on,  is 
enormous.  Large  quantities  of  timber  valuable  for 
house  and  ship  construction,  cabinet  woods,  dyewoods, 
rubber,  high  grade  of  gutta  percha,  resins,  and  oils 
are  found. 

The  display  of  Philippine  forest  products  at  the 
Louisiana  Purchase  Exposition,  at  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  was 
a  revelation  to  the  many  visitors.  None  had  realized 
the  enormous  quantities,  size,  and  beauty  of  the  native 
timber,  and  the  great  variety  of  other  valuable  forest 
products  which  the  islands  produce. 

Up  to  the  present,  logging  has  been  carried  on  in  the 
same  locality  for  a  great  many  years,  no  effort  being 
made  to  operate  a  virgin  forest  even  a  day's  journey 
from  the  settlements.  This  has  been  due  largely  to 
the  fact  that  in  former  times  there  was  very  little 
protection  to  life  and  property.  The  Filipinos  prefer 
to  live  in  settlements  and  work  within  a  few  miles 
of  them. 

Only  one  company  in  the  islands  has  made  prepara- 
tions to  log  with  modern  equipment,  and  is  now 
operating  in  nothern  Negros.  The  first  20-year  ex- 
clusive timber  license  to  operate  over  a  large  area  was 
granted  to  this  company  in  August,  1904. 

The  question  is  often  asked.  How  much  of  the  forests 
of  the  islands  are  held  by  private  owners?  Of  the 
48,000,000  acres  of  woodland,  much  less  than  1,000,000 
acres  are  now  in  private  hands.  The  forest  law  re- 
quires that  all  owners  of  private  woodlands  shall 
register  their  titles  in  the  Bureau  of  Forestry  before 
marketing  the  standing  timber.  If  this  timber  is  cut 
without  registration  of  title,  it  is  considered  as  taken 
from  public  land.  Up  to  date,  132  estates,  aggregat- 
ing in  area  270,000  acres,  are  registered  in  the  Bureau. 
All  owners  of  private  woodlands  throughout  the  is- 


Amejrican  Forest  Congress  177 

lands  have  shown  a  desire  to  register  their  titles  with 
the  Bureau.  The  officials  at  our  sixty  forest  stations 
throughout  the  islands  keep  a  sharp  supervision  over 
the  logging  operations  on  private  estates.  The  fear 
of  confiscation  of  the  land  on  account  of  non-payment 
of  taxes,  brings  to  the  public  notice  the  holders  of  all 
land  in  the  islands.  On  account  of  the  high  prices 
of  native  timber  during  the  past  five  years,  all  persons 
who  claim  any  woodland  have  presented  their  titles 
for  registration  in  the  Bureau.  But  one  large  tract 
(50,000  acres),  owned  by  the  religious  order  known 
as  the  Recoletos,  in  the  Island  of  Mindoro,  has  not 
been  registered. 

The  private  woodlands  throughout  the  islands  have 
been  pretty  thoroughly  cut  over  during  the  past  five 
years,  and  are  not  nearly  so  well  timbered  as  the  public 
forests. 

The  Bureau  of  Forestry  has  an  office  in  Manila, 
which  controls  all  operations  in  the  forests,  assisted 
by  officials  situated  at  the  sixty  forest  stations  scat- 
tered throughout  the  islands.  These  stations  are  so 
selected  that  the  officials  in  charge  of  the  district  can 
readily  supervise  the  operations  of  all  persons  gather- 
ing forest  products. 

The  forest  laws  and  regulations  of  the  islands  are 
based  on  provisions  of  the  act  of  Congress  of  July  i, 
1902,  entitled  *'An  Act  temporarily  to  provide  for  the 
administration  of  the  affairs  of  civil  government  in 
the  Philippine  Islands,  and  for  other  purposes."  Sec- 
tions 17  and  18  of  said  act  provide  as  follows : 

''Sec.  17.  That  timber,  trees,  forests,  and  forest 
products  on  lands  leased  or  demised  by  the  government 
of  the  Philippine  Islands  under  the  provisions  of  this 
act  shall  not  be  cut,  destroyed,  removed,  or  appro- 
priated except  by  special  permission  of  said  govern- 
ment and  under  such  res:ulations  as  it  may  prescribe. 


178  PROC:eEDINGS    O^    THK 

"All  moneys  obtained  from  lease  or  sale  of  any 
portioft  of  the  public  domain  or  from  licenses  to  cut 
timber  by  the  government  of  the  Philippine  Islands 
shall  be  coverted  into  the  insular  treasury  and  be  sub- 
ject only  to  appropriation  for  insular  purposes  accord- 
ing to  law. 

"Sec.  18.  That  the  forest  laws  and  regulations  now 
in  force  in  the  Philippine  Islands,  with  such  modifica- 
tions and  amendments  as  may  be  made  by  the 
government  of  said  islands,  are  hereby  continued  in 
force,  and  no  timber  lands  forming  part  of  the  public 
domain  shall  be  sold,  leased,  or  entered  until  the 
government  of  said  islands,  upon  the  certification  of 
the  forestry  bureau  that  said  lands  are  more  valuable 
for  agriculture  than  for  forest  uses,  shall  declare  such 
lands  so  certified  to  be  agricultural  in  character:  Pro- 
vided, That  the  said  government  shall  have  the  right 
and  is  hereby  empowered  to  issue  licenses  to  cut, 
harvest,  or  collect  timber  or  other  forest  products  on 
reserved  or  unreserved  public  lands  in  said  islands  in 
accordance  with  the  forest  laws  and  regulations  here- 
inbefore mentioned  and  under  the  provisions  of  this 
act,  and  the  said  government  may  lease  land  to  any 
person  or  persons  holding  such  licenses,  sufficient  for 
a  mill  site,  not  to  exceed  four  hectares  in  extent,  and 
may  grant  rights  of  way  to  enable  such  person  or 
persons  to  get  access  to  the  lands  to  which  such  licenses 
apply." 

A  forest  act  was  promulgated  by  the  Insular  Civil 
Commission  May  7,  1904;  and  by  means  of  its  wise 
provisions,  a  rational  system  of  forest  management 
can  be  inaugurated  and  the  future  welfare  of  the 
forests  secured.  It  received  careful  scrutiny  from 
legal  minds  connected  with  the  law-enacting  branch 
of  the  Civil  Government  with  a  view  to  protecting  and 


American  Forest  Congress  179 

conserving  the  rights  of  the  humblest  Hcensee,  while 
granting  to  lumber  companies  and  heavy  individual 
investors  considerable  latitude  in  timber  operations. 

The  visit  of  Mr.  Gifford  Pinchot,  Chief  of  the  U.  S. 
Bureau  of  Forestry,  to  the  Philippines,  resulted  in 
much  benefit  to  the  forest  service,  due  to  his  assistance 
in  preparing  the  present  forest  act. 

The  forest  regulations  were  amended  to  carry  out 
the  requirements  in  a  forest  act,  and  a  forest  manual 
containing  both  the  forest  act  and  forest  regulations, 
indexed  and  annotated,  with  extracts  from  other  laws 
bearing  upon  forest  revenue  or  service,  and  some 
additional  notes,  were  compiled  and  gratuitously  dis- 
tributed to  all  forest  officials  and  licensees. 

In  the  forest  act,  several  important  changes  may  be 
noted,  which  it  is  confidently  hoped  will  give  an 
impetus  to  forest  development.  Not  the  least  of  these 
is  the  reduction  of  tarifif  on  forest  products  from 
about  60  to  35  per  cent. ;  the  reclassification  of  native 
woods  into  four  groups;  the  adoption  of  the  metric 
system  of  weights  and  measures  in  conformity  with  the 
revised  U.  S.  statutes  and  similar  action  on  the  part 
of  most  advanced  countries;  the  division  of  the  prov- 
inces into  two  classes,  A  and  B,  and  granting  of  licenses 
for  a  period,  within  the  discretion  of  the  Secretary  of 
the  Interior  and  the  Chief  of  the  Bureau,  not  to  exceed 
20  years. 

The  liberality  of  these  provisions  may  be  seen  at  a 
glance,  especially  the  first  and  last.  In  dividing  the 
provinces,  encouragement  to  licensees  has  governed 
action.  The  provinces  in  Class  B  are  those  in  which 
it  is  desirable  that  the  larger  timber  operations  be 
carried  on,  and  provision  is  also  made  for  exclusive 
licenses,  wdiere  the  party  at  interest  will  have  sole 
privilege  of  gathering  a  certain  forest  product  on  the 
area  of  public  forest  designated. 


l8o  pROCEEDINCxS    OF    THK 

It  is  cause  for  congratulation  that  at  every  step  the 
Civil  Commission  has  been  in  thorough  sympathy  with 
a  rational  forest  policy.  This  is  further  shown  by  the 
public  land  act  (926),  which  provides  that  public  wood- 
lands shall  not  be  entered,  sold,  or  leased  until  a  certi- 
ficate is  received  from  the  Bureau  of  Forestry  that  the 
land  is  more  valuable  for  agricultural  than  for  forest 
purposes.  The  removal  of  valuable  timber  from  leased 
land  is  also  subject  to  the  regulations  of  this  Bureau. 

In  order  to  take  forest  products  from  public  lands, 
a  person  should  make  application  to  the  nearest  forest 
station  for  a  license.  If  the  license  is  for  a  small 
amount,  the  same  may  be  granted  by  the  local  forest 
officer;  if  for  a  large  amount,  the  application  is  for- 
warded to  the  Manila  office,  with  remarks  by  the  local 
forest  officer.  These  licenses  are  usually  granted  in 
July  of  each  year,  and  are  usually  for  a  period  of  one 
year.  In  cases  where  a  company  may  desire  to  operate 
on  a  large  area,  a  license  agreement  may  be  entered 
into  for  a  period  not  to  exceed  20  years,  whereby  the 
company  secures  an  exclusive  privilege  to  operate  over 
the  territory  desired  for  the  period  stated.  Before 
entering  into  this  agreement,  the  officials  of  the  Bureau 
make  a  careful  examination  of  the  territory  desired, 
noting  the  character  of  the  forest,  facilities  for  logging, 
proximity  of  settlements,  and  also  report  just  what 
logging  operations  are  being  conducted  in  this  vicinity 
by  the  local  residents.  The  officials  of  the  Bureau  will 
cooperate  with  representatives  of  any  company  desir- 
ing to  secure  data  concerning  the  amount  and  value  of 
forest  products  in  any  particular  region  where  opera- 
tions are  contemplated.  No  charge  is  made  by  the 
Bureau  for  the  examination,  nor  for  the  license 
granted. 

The  charges  are  made  on  the  timber  after  felling. 


American  Forest  Congress  i8i 

The  charges  vary  with  the  class  of  the  wood  and 
with  the  locaHty.  In  certain  provinces,  where  the 
Government  wishes  to  encourage  logging  operations, 
the  stumpage  charges  vary  from  75  cents  to  $3.75, 
gold,  per  M  feet,  B.  M.,  and  in  other  provinces  the 
charges  vary  from  $1.50  to  $7.50  per  M  feet,  B.  M. 
In  any  locality  of  the  islands,  where  a  forester  selects 
timber  for  felling,  the  lower  prices  will  be  charged. 

During  the  fiscal  year  1903-4,  the  following  number 
of  licenses  were  granted  by  the  Bureau  of  Forestry : 

Timber,  1,327;  gratuitous,  905;  firewood,  723;  by- 
products, 355.  The  timber  licenses  mentioned  in- 
cluded 19  licenses  granted  companies.  The  total 
amount  cut  by  these  companies  during  the  year  was 
640,327  cubic  feet,  an  average  of  24,228  cubic  feet. 
The  largest  amount  cut  by  one  company  was  95,016 
cubic  feet.  The  small  amount  cut  may  be  accounted 
for  when  one  realizes  the  primitive  logging  methods 
followed. 

Much  has  been  said  for  and  against  the  Filipino  as 
a  laborer.  When  one  is  well  acquainted  with  the 
native  it  is  not  difficult  to  learn  the  true  inwardness 
of  the  difficulties  of  the  labor  problem. 

In  the  first  place  the  Filipino  is  apt,  will  do  good 
work  when  supervised,  and  as  a  rule  will  continue  to 
work  if  he  is  treated  with  some  consideration. 

The  personal  relations  between  the  white  supervisor 
and  the  native  have  much  to  do  with  the  case.  The 
native  is  accustomed  to  certain  things  that  are  simple 
and  inexpensive  but  very  necessary  to  him.  He  likes 
to  have  his  family  and  fighting  cock  near  him — he  is 
fond  of  music,  of  his  church,  and  of  his  people;  in 
fact,  he  is  fond  of  social  pleasures  and  will  work  hard 
if  he  sees  pleasure  ahead.  In  the  islands  there  have 
been  a  number  of  instances  where  we  have  employed 

G 


i82  Proci:^dings  01^  the: 

several  thousand  natives  under  one  management  and 
where  every  consideration  was  shown  them,  and  the 
results  have  been  most  gratifying.  At  the  rock  quar- 
ries near  Mariveles,  the  workmen  have  their  families 
with  them;  they  are  provided  with  horses,  good  food, 
and  are  treated  justly  and  given  their  wages  when 
due.  The  Depot  Quartermaster  of  the  Army  in 
Manila  employs  between  one  and  two  thousand  natives 
and  reports  very  favorably  on  the  work  done.  The 
engineers  building  the  electric  tramway  in  Manila 
report  that  the  cost  of  laying  each  hundred  feet  of  track 
in  Manila  averages  less  in  cost  than  elsewhere;  that 
the  work  is  done  well  and  that  the  labor  is  very  satis- 
factory; and  that  there  is  not  the  slightest  difficulty 
encountered  in  keeping  the  men  to  their  work.  The 
record  made  for  coaling  ships  in  Manila  Bay  made  by 
the  native  Filipino  was  better  than  that  of  the  Chinese 
or  others  employed  in  a  similar  capacity  in  the  Bay. 

The  native  Filipino  will  learn  modern  logging  meth- 
ods very  quickly  and  well;  he  is  keen  at  handling 
machinery,  but  needs  some  one  to  look  over  his  work 
occasionally.  The  wage  paid  is  of  little  consideration 
with  the  native.  He  may  work  for  one  man  at  25 
cents  a  day  and  refuse  to  work  for  another  at  $1  a  day. 
His  employer  may  owe  him  several  weeks'  wages,  but 
if  the  native  is  treated  unjustly  and  his  feelings  are 
injured,  he  may  disappear  and  say  nothing  about  the 
wages  due.  If  a  company  contemplates  operations 
on  a  large  scale,  the  difficulty  of  securing  a  sufficient 
number  of  laborers  will  be  minimized  by  starting  in 
well.  Give  each  family  a  small  native  house ;  bamboo 
is  cheap.  They  should  have  their  church,  assembly 
hall,  cockpit,  and  music,  all  of  which  can  be  secured  at 
small  expense. 

The   market    for    Philippine   timber   at   present   is 


American  Forest  Congress  183 

Manila — a  few  cargoes  are  shipped  to  Hong  Kong  and 
Singapore.  The  war  in  the  islands  caused  great  de- 
struction to  property — the  country  people  have  lost 
their  money  and  stock,  their  homes  have  been  de- 
stroyed, the  roads  and  bridges  ruined,  and  now  that 
an  effort  is  being  made  to  rebuild,  there  is  but  little 
money  to  pay  for  it;  the  people,  the  municipal  and 
provincial  governments  are  poor.  Steady  progress 
towards  reconstruction  is  being  made,  however,  and 
native  timber  is  much  used. 

The  Philippine  timber  is  popular  in  the  China  mar- 
ket. All  of  lowland  China  is  without  timber  and  much 
is  imported.  Manila  is  nearer  to  China  than  any  other 
country  furnishing  timber,  and  should  in  time  furnish 
all  of  the  construction  and  finer  wood  needed.  A  good 
market  for  cabinet  wood  should  be  found  also  in 
Australia,  Japan,  and  the  United  States.  The  cost  at 
the  mill  of  native  manufactured  lumber  should  average 
less^than  $15  per  thousand,  board  measure. 

The  lower  grade  woods  should  then  be  sold  at  a 
fair  profit  and  the  higher  grade  woods  at  a  much  larger 
profit. 

The  legislation  now  requested  of  Congress  looking 
towards  railroad  development  in  the  islands,  allowing 
municipalities  to  incur  a  certain  amount  of  bonded 
indebtedness  and  reduction  of  the  tariff  will,  if  enacted, 
be  followed  by  an  era  of  railroad  construction,  munici- 
pal and  provincial  improvements,  which  means  an  in- 
creased demand  for  native  woods.  China  is  building 
railroads  and  yearly  increasing  its  demand  for  timber. 
The  Philippine  market  should  take  at  least  100  million 
feet  of  timber  per  year.  Hong  Kong,  Shanghai,  and 
Singapore  should  each  take  at  least  as  much. 

The  average  prices  of  timber  per  cubic  foot  and  M., 
B.  M.,  are,  in  Manila,  as  follows : 


1 84  Proce^^dings  of  the 

In  the  log,  Sawed  lumber, 

Class.  per  cu.  ft.  per  M.  B.  M. 

U.  S.  Cur.  U.  S.  Cur. 

Ipil $0.50  $141.25 

Molave 48  162.50 

Narra 47  128.15 

Tindalo 50  14375 

Yacal 40  III. 15 

Calantas 31  156.50 

Dungon 40  100.00 

Acle ^il  85.00 

Guijo 31  80.00 

Palo  Maria 31  80.00 

Apitong 31  60.00 

Lauan 20  48.50 

Supa 28  81.50 

Pasac 31  81.50 

Betis 56  94.00 

Toog 18  62.50 

Batino 16  75oo 

Pricks  Quoted  in  Manila  Newspapers: 

Class.  Per  M.  B.  M.,  U.  S.  Cur. 

Molave $160.00 

Narra,  R 150.00 

Narra,  Wh 120.00 

Yacal 125.00 

Ipil 125.00 

Guijo 70.00 

Supa 90.00 

Lauan 37.50 

Apitong 45.00 

Oregon  pine $40.00  to  $51.00 

Redwood $47-50  to  $71.00 

Hemlock $40.00  and  $41.00 

There  are  3  good  steam  saw  mills  in  Manila  and  one 
in  northern  Negros;  a  few  smaller  mills  are  in  the 


American  Forejst  Congress  185 

provinces.  The  mills  can  saw  all  of  the  logs  brought 
to  market.  The  great  difficulty  is  to  get  the  logs.  The 
system  of  logging  must  change,  modern  methods  must 
be  used,  the  donkey  engine,  wire  cable,  portable  rail- 
ways, and  modern  methods  of  rafting,  loading,  and 
unloading  lumber  vessels,  all  must  be  employed. 
Americans  familiar  with  such  work  must  be  employed, 
and  under  their  instruction  a  competent  force  of  capa- 
ble Filipinos  may  be  trained  who  will  learn  quickly  and 
will  do  a  large  part  of  the  work  required. 

The  Philippine  Government  is  provided  with  just 
and  efficient  courts.  A  new  judicial  system  has  been 
inaugurated  which  gives  satisfaction  to  all.  Business 
men  in  the  islands  have  a  feeling  of  confidence  in  the 
courts  which  must  be  very  gratifying  to  the  Philippine 
Government.  The  Supreme  Court  is  composed  of 
seven  judges,  four  Americans  and  three  Filipinos,  and 
all  have  been  carefully  selected  for  fitness  and  integrity. 
In  cases  involving  $25,000  or  more,  appeal  may  be 
made  to  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States.  All 
cases  before  the  courts  are  tried  promptly  and  the 
record  of  these  courts  would  be  a  credit  to  any  of  our 
States.  A  system  of  registration  of  land  titles  has  been 
adopted  similar  to  that  known  as  the  Torrens  system. 
The  land  court  upon  sufficient  proof  gives  a  title  which 
is  guaranteed  by  the  Government.  Purchases  of  land 
may  now  be  made  with  the  proviso  that  the  seller 
secures  a  title  from  the  land  court. 

The  gold  standard  has  been  adopted  for  the  islands 
so  that  the  fluctuations  in  the  currency  so  common 
in  the  Orient  is  done  away  with  in  the  Philippines. 
There  is  and  always  has  been  since  the  American  occu- 
pation, a  surplus  in  the  Philippine  treasury. 

The  income  to  be  derived  from  the  new  system  of 
internal  revenue  is  expected  to  more  than  meet  any 


i86  Proche:dings  o^  the; 

change  in  revenue  from  customs  duties  should  the 
present  tariff  rate  between  the  islands  on  the  United 
States  be  reduced. 

Ever  since  the  American  occupation  of  the  islands 
attempts  have  been  made  by  private  capital  to  develop 
the  lumber  industry.  Immediate  success  has  not  fol- 
lowed these  efforts.  In  many  cases  sufficient  capital 
was  not  invested;  in  other  cases  men  failed  through 
lack  of  experience  in  the  business. 

There  is  a  vast  natural  forest  wealth  awaiting  devel- 
opment, but  its  development  requires  wise  management, 
money  and  time.  This  archipelago  is  the  one  undevel- 
oped fertile  spot  in  the  Orient.  The  market  for  our 
products  is  strong  and  close  at  hand.  Labor  is  not 
very  difficult  to  secure,  and  ample  protection  is  secured 
to  life  and  property.  The  virgin  forests  have  not  been 
developed  for  this  very  lack  of  protection.  Any  com- 
pany desiring  to  investigate  the  forest  resources  of  the 
islands  will  find  the  officials  of  the  Bureau  of  Forestry 
ready  to  cooperate  in  furnishing  information,  both  in 
the  office  and  in  the  field.  There  are  a  number  of  very 
inviting  fields  of  forest  development  in  the  islands 
which  should  prove  attractive  to  those  who  believe  in 
the  future  of  our  possessions  in  the  Orient.  The  fol- 
lowing regions  offer  special  attractions: 

The  Island  of  Mindoro,  the  east  coast  of  Luzon, 
the  Cagayan  Valley,  the  Islands  of  Negros  and  Leyte. 
The  greater  the  distance  from  Manila,  the  base  of  sup- 
plies, the  less  the  chances  for  success.  A  company 
entering  the  Philippine  field  should  go  prepared  to 
carry  on  some  agricultural  work  in  addition  to  logging ; 
it  should  also  be  equipped  with  a  modern  saw  mill,  a 
complete  system  of  water  transportation  so  as  to  supply 
the  island  and  China  markets ;  it  should  have  a  lumber 
yard  in  Manila  as  well  as  in  each  China  port.     A  well 


American  Forkst  Congress  187 

laid  out  town  should  be  started  for  the  employees. 
This  scheme  of  exploitation  can  be  started  with  a  capi- 
tal of  half  a  million  dollars.  A  tract  of  between  100 
and  200  square  miles  of  virgin  public  forest  may  be 
secured  for  20  years,  and  when  secured  a  selection  of 
the  best  sites  for  agricultural  development  should  be 
marked  out.  Land  may  be  purchased  by  the  company 
and  also  by  the  employees,  or  may  be  taken  up  by 
them  as  homesteads.  Philippine  hemp  and  copra  com- 
mand a  high  price  all  over  the  world,  are  easily  raised, 
and  on  virgin  soil  should  produce  good  results  within 
a  few  years. 

The  Philippines  are  centrally  located  and  close  to 
markets  with  a  trade  of  more  than  100  million  dollars 
per  month ;  a  trade  that  is  constantly  growing  and  that 
should  be  of  great  value  to  the  islands.  We  have 
valuable  and  vast  quantities  of  hardwoods;  we  have 
hemp,  copra,  sugar,  and  tobacco  that  450  million  people 
want.  Manila  will  have  next  year  the  best  harbor  and 
docks  in  the  Orient,  and  the  facilities  for  loading  and 
unloading  large  ocean  steamers  will  make  this  port  a 
great  depot  of  supply  for  this  part  of  the  world.  It 
seems  strange  that  so  many  people  should  be  uncon- 
scious of  the  great  future  of  the  trade  in  the  Orient. 
China  is  awakening  and  will  not  cease  its  stride  in 
commercial  development.  Japan  will  in  the  near  fu- 
ture be  a  powerful  factor  in  this  development  and  will 
look  to  the  United  States  for  cooperation. 

The  Pacific  is  indeed  an  American  ocean;  we  have 
the  choice  islands  in  the  great  sea,  we  have  the  most 
fertile  spot  at  the  gates  of  China.  This  spot  is  peopled 
by  a  bright,  ambitious,  and  happy  race,  a  race  that  is 
susceptible  of  great  development.  The  Philippines 
need  Americans  with  a  keen  sense  of  right  and  justice, 
with  brains  and  money,  the  American  coming  to  the 


i88  Proce:edings  0^  THE 

islands  should  realize  that  it  is  the  country  of  the 
Filipinos,  he  should  treat  the  native  with  consideration 
and  the  ready  response  of  the  native  will  be  more  than 
gratifying.  Business  will  succeed  in  the  islands  if  the 
native  is  with  you. 


THE  LUMBER  DEALERS'  INTEREST  IN 
FOREST  PRESERVATION 

BY 

GEORGE  W.  HOTCHKISS 

Lumber  Secretary's  Bureau  of  Information 

'T'HJ^  very  interesting  papers  to  which  we  have 
Hstened  this  morning  may  well  give  me  some 
excuse,  in  the  lateness  of  the  hour,  for  cutting  my 
remarks  short,  and  I  request  the  chairman  to  call  me 
down  in  ten  minutes  at  the  outside.  Representing  the 
retail  lumbermen  of  twenty-four  States  which  were 
gathered  in  the  early  part  of  December,  and  about 
40,000  retail  lumbermen,  I  come  to  you  to  bring  their 
greetings  and  to  say  something  about  the  interests  of 
the  retail  lumber  trade  in  connection  with  the  preser- 
vation of  the  forest.  In  order  to  arrive  at  an  adequate 
realization  of  the  interests  of  the  retail  lumberman, 
which  means  the  interests  of  the  nation  at  large,  it  is 
necessary  to  take  a  hasty  glance  at  the  progress  of  the 
lumber  business. 

The  first  saw  mill  in  this  country  was  built  in  1643 
in  the  forests  of  Vermont.  In  1763  we  began  to 
import  lumber  from  Canada,  and  we  have  custom 
house  figures  to  show  that  623  feet  were  brought  to 
Oswego  in  that  year.  The  center  of  the  lumber  trade 
progressed  west  to  the  straits  of  Mackinac,  and  the 
island  of  Mackinac  was  for  a  time  the  center  of  the 
industry;  from  that  point  to  the  St.  Clair  River  and 
to  the  Saginaw  River  and  to  Lake  Michigan  points  in 
Michigan  and  in  Wisconsin,  with  several  diflferent 
points  of  production.     In  the  early  settlement  of  Mich- 


190  Proc^e:dings  of  th^ 

igan  we  begin  to  find  mills  on  the  St.  Clair.  They 
throve  in  the  '30s,  increased  and  with  the  settlement 
of  the  country  the  lumber  industry  of  the  State  spread 
until  it  covered  the  entire  State.  At  about  the  same 
time  there  were  a  few  mills  on  the  shore  of  Lake 
Michigan  in  Wisconsin  and  on  the  Wisconsin  River. 
In  1830  the  city  of  Chicago  received  its  lumber  by  ox 
team  from  the  Alleghany  Mountains.  The  consump- 
tion of  lumber  in  1883  was  2,225,000,000  feet — a  con- 
trast with  the  load  brought  by  the  ox  team  in  1830. 
In  1852  I  went  to  Canada,  returning  from  California, 
and  began  the  manufacture  of  lumber  on  the  north 
shore  of  Lake  Erie.  Here  a  strip  from  Port  Hope  on 
the  east  to  Port  Stanley  on  the  west  represented  the 
area  of  lumber  operations.  In  1862  I  went  to  Saginaw, 
remaining  there  seventeen  years.  In  those  year,  speak- 
of  values,  I  bought  lumber  which  ran  75  per  cent, 
upper  for  $14  a  thousand  feet.  Those  uppers  to-day, 
were  they  still  to  be  had,  would  be  worth  $85  to  $100 
in  Chicago.  This  is  the  increase  in  value.  In 
1870  in  connection  with  Henry  S.  Dow  I  became  the 
original  lumber  journalist  of  the  country,  and  from 
that  time  I  have  been  greatly  interested  in  statistics  of 
production.  I  have  often  found  great  difficulty  in  ob- 
taining reports  of  statistics  of  manufacture,  but  we 
have  so  perfected  the  system  of  statistics  as  to  have 
arrived  at  a  fair  knowledge  of  the  production  of  the 
country.  In  1870  and  thereabouts,  after  many  experi- 
ments confined  wholly  to  pine — for  in  those  days  the 
lumberman  knew  nothing  about  any  lumber  except 
pine — it  was  determined  that  the  consumption  averaged 
500  feet  per  capita.  Some  put  it  at  494  feet,  some  at 
510,  in  the  several  years  during  which  these  figures 
were  compiled.  The  per  capita  consumption  to-day 
is  not  less  than  750  feet,  including  all  varieties  of  tim- 


American  Fordst  Congre:ss  191 

ber.  We  are  using  trees  that  we  used  to  think  worth- 
less. We  are  sawing  everything  that  will  make  a 
board  and  some  that  will  not,  and  as  Mr.  Defebaugh 
has  said,  you  will  find  4x4s  with  bark  on  all  four 
corners.  As  was  a  common  expression  in  the  days  of 
the  war,  we  are  "robbing  the  cradle  as  well  as  the 
grave."  We  are  paying  no  respect  to  age  or  value  of 
timber,  but  are  cutting  it  down  and  getting  rid  of  it. 

The  consumption  to-day  may  fairly  be  estimated  at 
from  46,000,000,000  to  50,000,000,000  feet  of  timber 
annually.  I  remember  a  young  man  with  grand  pros- 
pects for  lumber  manufacture  who  told  me  he  had 
secured  an  option  on  360  acres  and  wanted  to  build  a 
mill  on  it  and  asked  me  for  my  advice  as  to  how  to 
make  $25,000  profit.  I  told  him  that  that  amount  of 
timber  would  be  just  a  good  week's  bite  for  some  of 
the  modern  saw  mills  and  that  the  mill  would  never 
be  paid  for  by  the  profits.  A  great  many  people  have 
the  same  inability  to  understand  big  figures  and  the 
immensity  of  the  lumber  business,  but  when  I  tell  you 
that  the  consumption  of  lumber  during  a  single  day 
is  something  like  13,000,000  to  15,000,000  feet  you  will 
perhaps  get  some  appreciation  of  the  vastness  of  the 
lumber  trade.  It  is  claimed  by  Government  authorities 
that  the  lumber  industry  is  the  fourth  in  extent.  I 
claim  it  to  be  the  first.  I  claim  the  value  of  the  vast 
industry  has  given  us  one-fourth  to  one-third  of  the 
financial  value  of  the  country.  Our  financial  interests 
are  computed  at  $96,000,000,000.  I  believe  the  forests 
have  given  us  from  $25,000,000,000  to  $30,000,000,000 
of  that  amount,  and  where  is  one  other  industry  that 
exceeds  it  ?  So  little  is  understood  of  the  value  of  the 
lumber  trade  that  I  must  give  you  one  little  illustration : 
The  product  of  the  California  gold  field  I  have  watched 
with  interest,  having  been  a  forty-niner.     Our  produc- 


192  PrOCE:i:dINGS    01^    THE 

tion  of  gold  in  California  from  1848  to  1890  was 
$i,348,cx)0,ooo.  The  lumber  trade  of  the  nation  for 
1890  was  $1,135,000,000,  lacking  but  $200,000,000  of 
the  entire  volume  of  gold  produced  in  California,  which 
has  been  the  gold  mine  of  the  world  during  all  these 
fifty  years.  Let  me  give  another  illustration.  All  the 
products  of  the  soil,  including  oil,  gold  and  iron — 
everything  of  that  kind — in  1895  was  $540,000,000,  with 
a  wheat  crop  of  $400,000,000.  There  you  have  a  total 
of  $940,000,000  for  the  products  of  the  soil  against 
$1,135,000,000  for  the  products  of  the  forests.  I  claim 
that  lumber  is  the  productive  factor  in  the  wealth  of 
the  nation. 

Up  to  about  1870  the  lumber  business  was  transacted 
by  the  manufacturer  and  the  wholesaler  at  leading  deep 
water  centers,  and  by  but  few  retail  yards.  When  I 
took  my  first  clerkship  in  New  Haven,  Conn.,  in  1874,  our 
lumber  supplies  came  from  Maine  and  afterwards  from 
Albany  and  the  Susquehanna  at  Fort  Deposit.  Then 
a  part  of  the  manufacturers  drifted  west,  and  in  1852 
purchased  timber  and  manufactured  it  in  the  southern 
part  of  Canada.  Gradually  the  production  has  ex- 
tended westward.  We  had  originally  in  Michigan  not 
fewer  than  300,000,000,000  feet  of  white  pine,  of  which 
we  had  cut  165,000,000,000  feet  up  to  1897,  with  less 
than  two  billion  feet  left  in  that  year  by  reason  of 
forest  fires  and  other  destructive  influences.  The  total 
production  in  the  northwest  to  1897,  in  Michigan 
Wisconsin  and  Minnesota,  was  333,000,000,000  feet. 
These  are  figures  that  are  representative  of  the  immen- 
sity of  the  lumber  business.  This  is  a  billion  dollar 
country  as  far  as  its  finances  are  concerned.  It  is 
much  more  than  a  billion  foot  country  to  the  lumber- 
men. This  lumber  has  been  utilized  by  the  railroads 
and  we  have  built  the  nation  from  the  forests  of  the 


American  Forest  Congress  193 

North.  My  time  has  expired  and  I  have  no  time  to 
exploit  the  forests  of  Pennsylvania  and  the  West,  but 
could  I  do  so,  I  think  I  could  fully  demonstrate  that 
we  are  a  lumber  consuming  people  and  strengthen  any 
impression  you  may  have  formed  of  the  importance  of 
the  trade. 


COOPERAGE  AND  ITS  RELATION   TO 
FORESTY 

BY 

JOHN  A.  McCANN 

Editor  National  Coopers'  Jommal 

A  S  a  preliminary  measure  of  enlightenment  and  to 
^^  illustrate  the  attitude  of  my  cooperage  friends  as 
they  relate  to  the  subject  of  improved  forest  condi- 
tions, I  may  say  without  fear  of  contradiction  that  the 
writer  of  that  beautiful  poem,  "Woodman,  spare  that 
tree,"  has  never  been  a  very  popular  personage  in 
cooperage  circles.  Indeed,  I  think  it  will  be  very 
generally  conceded,  even  by  manufacturers  of  coop- 
erage stock  themselves,  that  no  class  of  timber  work- 
ers have  been  more  indefatigable  and  painstaking  in 
their  efforts  to  make  the  work  of  the  American  For- 
estry Association  and  the  Bureau  of  Forestry  a  prime 
and  pressing  necessity  than  have  those  amongst  whom 
it  has  been  my  pleasant  and,  more  or  less,  profitable 
privilege  to  labor  for  many  years. 

This  being  the  case,  it  would  seen  to  require  a  rare 
and  rather  robust  quality  of  courage  for  one  who  has 
for  twenty  years  conducted  a  cooperage  paper  to  come 
here  for  the  purpose  of  offering  congratulations  on 
the  fact  that  in  future  we  are  likely  to  have  intelligent 
and  scientific  efforts  to  prevent  the  enthusiastic  labors 
of  those  who  seem  bent  on  leaving  nothing  of  our 
American  forests  but  a  memory.  That  I  am  here  for 
that  very  purpose,  however,  would  seem  to  indicate 
that  I  have  that  able-bodied  quality  of  courage  with 
me,  but  as  a  plea  in  extenuation  or  avoidance,  which- 


American  Forest  Congress  195 

ever  is  preferred,  I  will  say  that  I  come  primed  and 
fortified  with  the  belief  that 

"Long  as  the  light  holds  out  to  burn, 
The  vilest  sinner  may  return." 

And  in  this  particular  direction  we  cooperage  people 
have  sinned  atrociously. 

Now,  ladies  and  gentlemen,  I  shall  not  follow  my 
journalistic  associate  of  the  American  Lumberman, 
Mr.  Defebaugh,  in  the  erection  of  any  pedestals  on 
which  to  place  cooperage  people.  I  shall  not  follow 
him  in  picturing  my  cooperage  friends  as  natural  and 
patriotic  conservators  of  our  forest  areas.  I  shall 
not  deny  that  we  have  been  wasteful,  nor  shall  I  seek 
to  defend  that  wastefulness,  nor  shall  I  discuss  the  ques- 
tion of  man's  right  to  do  with  his  own  just  w^hat  he  sees 
fit.  I  come  simply  to  lay  our  symptoms,  as  I  see  them, 
before  Dr.  Wilson,  Chief  Surgeon  Pinchot,  and  their 
assistants,  with  the  hope  that  they  can  successfully 
prescribe  for  our  ailments.  It  is  only  the  sick  that 
require  a  physician,  and  on  that  hypothesis  I  fail  to 
see  why  Editor  Defebaugh,  as  the  representative  of 
those  well-behaved  and  immaculate  lumbermen,  came 
here  at  all. 

We  cooperage  people  make  no  claims  of  that  kind. 
We  have  been  wasteful,  and  as  though  in  pursuit  of 
the  most  lofty  ambition,  we  have  for  years  gone  at  the 
destruction  of  at  least  two  of  the  noblest  specimens  of 
the  American  forest,  the  white  oak  and  the  American 
elm,  and  followed  them  so  relentlessly,  that  the  ends 
of  both  are  well  in  sight,  unless  the  American  Forestry 
Association  or  Bureau  of  Forestry  will  stay  the  hand 
of  the  stave  man,  do  something  to  repair  his  wasteful- 
ness, or  satisfy  his  rapacity  with  other  woods  of  which 
a  greater  abundance  is  obtainable. 


196  Proce:edings  of  th^ 

It  may  be  news  to  many  of  those  within  the  sound 
of  my  voice  that  grades  of  white  oak,  which  are  wel- 
comed by  the  furniture  factories  of  Grand  Rapids  and 
elsewhere  for  furniture  making,  would  be  rejected 
by  the  maker  of  the  whiskey  barrel,  and  that 
elm,  suitable  for  the  interior  finish  of  a  luxurious 
home,  would  not  always  do  for  a  Minneapolis  flour 
barrel.  We  of  the  cooperage  fraternity  are  both 
finicky  and  fastidious;  but  it  is  earnestly  to  be  hoped 
that  under  the  operation  and  influence  of  this  Associa- 
tion the  Bureau  of  Forestry,  or  the  legislation  which 
will  follow  their  joint  recommendations,  some  of  this 
fastidiousness  may  be  taken  out  of  us. 

As  far  back  as  I  have  any  knowledge,  white  oak  has 
been,  and  it  is  to-day,  the  chief  dependence  of  the 
tight  barrel  cooper.  I  mean  those  who  manufacture 
barrels  for  whiskey,  wine,  oil,  alcohol,  turpentine,  and 
other  liquids.  All  of  these  seem  to  demand  and  require 
white  oak  of  the  finest  grade,  and  the  part  of  the  tree 
which  they  deem  -fit  for  their  purpose  is  its  least  part. 

The  greater  part,  up  to  recent  years,  has  been  thrown 
aside  to  rot  and  breed  a  very  destructive  species  of 
worm,  or  else  has  been  thrown  into  heaps  and  burned. 
I  feel  that  I  am  well  within  the  bounds  of  truth  and 
reason  when  I  say  that  if  all  the  white  oak  which  has 
been  wasted  during  the  past  fifty  years  could  have  been 
saved  and  sold  at  its  present  value,  it  would  have  been 
enough  to  pay  for  the  Panama  Canal,  or  possibly  pay 
off  the  national  debt. 

There  are  other  woods  used  by  the  tight-barrel 
maker  for  such  semi-liquid  products  as  syrup,  glucose, 
lard,  pork,  etc.,  and  these  woods  include  cypress,  red 
oak,  and  latterly,  red  gum.  Chestnut  has  never  been 
made  much  use  of  in  this  country,  although  it  is  used 
extensively  for  olive  oils  in  Italy,  as  well  as  in  the  wine 


American  FoRi:sT  Congrkss  197 

districts  of  France  and  Germany.  The  American 
family  of  chestnuts  is  a  large  one,  and  if  it  could  be 
demonstrated  that  some  of  the  varieties  are  available 
for  tight-barrel  work,  it  would  have  an  excellent  eflfect 
in  restricting  the  demand  for  oak,  the  supply  of  which 
— in  any  considerable  bodies — is  now  confined  to  Ken- 
tucky, Tennessee,  Arkansas,  and  Texas.  The  avail- 
ability of  tupelo  or  red  gum  for  tight-barrel  purposes, 
is  another  work  which  the  Bureau  of  Forestry  could 
undertake  advantageously,  as  from  a  recent  bulletin 
issued  by  the  department,  it  is  learned  that  in  the 
district  south  of  the  Ohio  River  and  east  of  the  Texas 
line,  red  gum  stumpage  alone  equals  that  of  all  other 
hardwoods  combined. 

In  seeking  to  prepare  myself  to  point  out  for  this 
Association  and  the  Bureau  of  Forestry  where  either 
or  both  can  possibly  be  of  use  to  the  industry  which 
constitutes  my  field  of  labor,  I  have  called  upon  some 
of  the  manufacturers  of  cooperage  stock  for  their  views 
on  this  subject,  and  one  of  these,  who  is  a  close  student 
of  forest  conditions,  and  particularly  well  fitted  by 
nature  and  education  to  speak  intelligently  of  cooper- 
age needs  from  the  standpoint  of  forestry,  says  that  the 
cooperage  people  who  own  timber,  and  timber  owners 
generally,  should  be  educated  to  their  necessities  in 
three  ways: 

First.  The  need  of  an  intelligent  appreciation  of  the 
value  of  timber. 

Second.  The  need  of  caring  for  the  timber  from  a 
physical  standpoint. 

Third.  The  manner  in  which  to  accomplish  these 
ends. 

To  begin  with,  the  first  subject  means  to  teach  the 
public  an  intelligent  appreciation  of  the  value  of  timber. 
It  is  an  old  maxim  that  "Wilful  waste  makes  woeful 


198  Proceedings  0^  the 

want."  Timber  owners  should  know  the  value  of  their 
holdings,  and  in  the  event  that  they  do  not  want  to 
make  use  of  them  themselves,  and  do  not  want  them  to 
come  into  the  hands  of  their  neighbors,  then  the  obliga- 
tion which  rests  on  every  good  citizen  should  not  be 
overlooked,  and  that  is,  the  sacred  duty  of  caring  for 
material  things  which  are  to  pass  on  down  to  posterity. 

Taking  the  physical  view  of  the  matter  with  refer- 
ence to  the  cooperage  business,  it  has  come  under  my 
observation,  says  my  correspondent,  that  each  year 
white  oak  for  cooperage  stock  is  becoming  scarcer,  and 
the  quality  of  the  oak  is  deteriorating.  Worms  in  the 
timber  are  becoming  more  destructive  and  working  in 
new  localities,  and  in  this  connection  I  would  add  that 
worms  do  more  serious  damage  to  white  oak,  so  far 
as  cooperage  is  concerned,  than  they  do  to  any  other 
kind  of  timber. 

It  seems  that  the  great  quantity  of  waste  timber 
allowed  to  lie  in  the  woods  and  decay  accounts,  to  a 
great  extent,  for  the  increase  of  worms  in  recent  years, 
as  this  decaying  timber  not  only  feeds  the  worms,  but 
breeds  them  as  well. 

Another  destructive  force  that  I  want  to  speak  of, 
which  has  destroyed  many  million  feet  of  fine  forest, 
is  the  annual  fires  that  we  have  in  the  different  timber 
belts.  These  fires  not  only  kill  the  small  timber  out- 
right, but  the  larger  trees  are  blasted,  and  as  soon  as 
they  begin  to  decay  the  worms  entirely  destroy  the 
tree.  The  need  of  protection  against  both  of  these 
destructive  forces  can  easily  be  seen;  indeed,  the  way 
was  well  pointed  out  yesterday  by  an  Ontario  delegate ; 
and  this  brings  us  to  the  third  subject:  "How  to 
Accomplish  These  Ends." 

In  this  connection  I  am  greatly  interested  in  the 
matter   of   forest   reservations   to   be   purchased   and 


American  Forest  Congress  199 

owned  by  the  Government.  I  would  like  to  see  our 
Government  own  large  boundaries  of  timber  lands  in 
different  sections  of  our  country,  and  to  give  these  for- 
ests such  care  and  attention  as  would  demonstrate  that 
to  give  care  and  attention  to  standing  timber  will  prove 
as  great  a  source  of  revenue  as  any  other  line  of  en- 
deavor of  which  demonstration  can  be  made.  Let  the 
Association  and  the  Bureau  of  Forestry  acquaint  the 
public  with  the  fact  that  each  year  timber  is  becoming 
more  valuable,  and  should  have  their  attention  in  the 
way  of  protection  against  the  two  destructive  forces, 
viz.,  forest  fires  and  worms.  Let  the  Government 
make  practical  tests  and  demonstrations  in  their  own 
forests  by  piling  up  the  great  quantity  of  waste  timber 
and  by  cutting  down  and  burning  decaying  timber, 
thus  destroying  the  germs  of  the  worms  as  well  as  the 
worms  themselves;  and  the  other  object  in  cleaning  the 
forest  of  this  waste  matter  is  to  put  safeguards  around 
to  prevent  forest  fires. 

Another  large  exporter  of  cooperage  stock  and  lum- 
ber suggests  that  laws  similar  to  those  which  now 
exist  in  France  and  Germany,  where  replanting  would 
be  practically  compulsory,  should  be  put  on  our  statute 
books.  He  believes  that  it  is  only  a  question  of  time 
when  it  will  be  rendered  necessary,  by  conditions,  for 
the  United  States  Government  to  insist  on  replanting, 
where  owners  cut  over  timber,  and  practically  to  adopt 
the  French  and  German  law,  or  practically  the  same 
forest  laws  that  exist  all  over  Continental  Europe  and 
which  are,  undoubtedly,  well  known  to  the  Bureau  of 
Forestry. 

Another  believes  that  it  would  be  a  great  advantage 
to  the  country  at  large  if  forests  of  elm  (elmus  Ameri- 
cana) and  Cottonwood  (populus  monilifera  or  popuhis 
balsamfcro   or  balm  of   Gilead)    were  planted  under 


200  Proceedings  oi^  tiik 

governmental  auspices.  These  species  grow  very  rap- 
idly, provided  they  are  planted  in  low,  wet  land;  and 
there  is  an  abundance  of  such  land  that  would  grow 
forests  of  this  class  of  timber,  if  properly  planted  and 
protected  from  fire,  thereby  utilizing,  to  the  best  ad- 
vantage, land  that  is  practically  worthless  for  other 
purposes.  All  other  classes  of  deciduous  woods  (ex- 
cepting the  white  or  burr  oak  species)  which  are  now 
used  to  considerable  extent  for  cooperage,  can  be 
grown  on  hillsides  and  other  lands  which  are  not 
valuable  for  agricultural  purposes. 

Some  of  my  cooperage  friends  are  of  the  opinion 
that  the  time  has  passed  when  this  Association,  tlie 
Government  or  its  Bureau  of  Forestry,  can  ren  Jer 
any  practical  service  in  this  direction,  A  very  large 
operator  in  Michigan  writes  as  follows :  "I  know  of 
nothing  that  the  Government  can  do,  except  to  encour- 
age reforestation  as  much  as  possible,  as  I  believe  the 
Government  owns  practically  no  timber  lands  on  which 
cooperage  material  is  now  growing,  and  as  the  timbers 
used  for  cooperage  material  are  now  in  the  hands  of 
private  holders,  the  question  of  handling  this  class  of 
forest  products  in  a  more  economical  way,  with  less 
waste,  is  entirely  beyond  the  jurisdiction  or  dictation, 
in  any  way,  of  the  general  Government. 

"There  is  a  great  deal  of  wasteful  extravagane, 
especially  in  the  South  at  the  present  time,  in  the  way 
of  not  taking  out  of  the  timber  tracts  all  of  the  timber 
that  might  be  used,  which  wastefulness  is,  in  a  large 
degree,  practiced  on  account  of  the  low  stumpage  cost 
at  which  most  of  these  properties  were  acquired. 

*'The  question  of  reforestation  of  the  kinds  of  timber 
used  for  cooperage  material  is  a  large  one,  and  it  is 
going  to  take  a  great  deal  of  time.  These  kinds  of 
timber  grow  much  less  rapidly  than  pine,  and  many 


American  Forest  Congress  201 

of  the  other  timbers  that  are  used  so  largely  for  gen- 
eral building  and  manufacturing  purposes. 

"It  occurs  to  me  that  really  one  of  the  chief  things 
in  connection  with  this  question  is  to  discourage  the 
useless  waste  of  the  kind  of  material  used  for  cooper- 
age. Any  subject  of  this  kind  naturally  concerns  al- 
most entirely  the  private  holder  of  stumpage,  and  is 
therefore  beyond  anything  the  general  Government 
could  do,  except  to  make  suggetsions.  The  principal 
manufacturers,  possibly,  would  not  be  interested  in 
even  any  such  suggestion  as  this  to  the  general  Govern- 
ment, from  the  fact  that  for  some  time  past  it  has  been 
apparent  to  them  that  the  time  was  speedily  coming 
when  material  suitable  for  cooperage  is  going  to  be- 
come quite  scarce,  consequently  more  valuable.  Hence 
they  are  willing  to  let  those  who  are  so  disposed  be  as 
wasteful  of  such  timber  as  they  please.  Of  course  this 
is  a  very  selfish  view,  but  selfishness  travels  hand-in- 
hand  with  the  commercialism  which  seems  to  have 
possession  of  us  at  present,  to  an  extent  not  believed 
possible  in  the  days  of  our  forefathers  and  the  blessed 
era  of  'The  Simple  Life.'  " 

Another  correspondent,  who  is  a  large  manufacturer 
of  staves  in  Arkansas  and  Louisiana,  and  who  is  also 
a  close  student  of  all  matters  pertaining  to  his  craft, 
writes  as  follows : 

"In  my  opinion,  little  can  be  done  by  the  Bureau  of 
Forestry  that  will  benefit  the  cooperage  manufacturers 
in  business  to-day.  The  subject  of  reforestation  is, 
and  has  always  been,  an  interesting  one,  and  I  am  glad 
to  note  that  it  is  being  taken  in  hand,  and  that  the  peo- 
ple have  at  last  awakened  to  the  necessity  of  taking 
some  steps  toward  insuring  the  supply  of  timber  for 
use  in  future  years.  Experts  claim  that  it  takes  an  oak 
from  80  to  100  years  to  arrive  at  its  maturity,  or  its 


202  PrOCE:^DINGS    O^    THE) 

prime,  rather;  and  from  this  age  up  to  400  and  500 
years  is  about  the  ages  of  trees  that  are  usually  con- 
sumed in  cooperage.  You  will  readily  see  from  this 
that  unless  the  present  timber  supply  is  very  much 
greater  than  most  of  us  admit  it  to  be,  that  the  supply 
in  sight  at  the  present  time  will  be  exhausted  long 
before  any  new  supply  could  possibly  come  in.  To 
advocate  trying  to  curtail  the  cutting,  to  my  mind, 
would  be  altogether  futile,  as  there  is  hardly  an  acre  of 
virgin  oak  timber  to  be  found  in  the  county  anywhere 
to-day.  True  there  are  some  considerable  tracts  which 
are  usually  called  virgin  timber,  but  the  fact  of  the 
matter  is  that  nearly  every  acre  has  been  cut  over  to 
some  extent,  and  in  some  cases  so  long  ago  that  the 
signs  of  the  original  stumps  have  disappeared. 

"There  is  no  doubt  but  what  the  cooperage  manu- 
facturers have  been  the  worst  timber  butchers  who 
have  ever  visited  the  hardwood  forests  of  any  country. 
In  some  places  we  find  tracks  of  the  destructive  methods 
that  prevailed  many  years  ago,  of  cutting  only  the 
choicest  trees  to  be  found,  and  making  them  into  very 
large  staves  for  export,  using  nothing  but  the  very 
choicest  part  of  the  tree,  and  only  the  choicest  trees  in 
the  forest  at  that  time.  This  is  still  being  carried  on, 
to  some  extent,  and  I  have  in  hand  a  letter  advising 
me  that  the  Louisiana  Commission  has  ordered  an 
especially  low  rate  on  logs  and  heavy  staves  for  export 
(that  is  pipe  and  cask  staves),  overlooking  the  fact 
that  by  so  doing  they  are  just  contributing  to  the 
denudition  of  the  better  parts  of  the  forests,  and 
causing  them  to  disappear  much  quicker  than  they 
would  otherwise,  leaving  a  large  portion,  which  the 
average  stave  manufacturer  of  to-day  would  class  as 
first-class  material,  to  decay  in  the  woods.  As  to  what 
would  be  of  benefit  to  the  stave  manufacturers:  we 


American  Forest  Congress  203 

think  that  some  restriction  or  some  kind  of  embargo 
thrown  around  this  rough,  unfinished  product  going 
abroad  would  be  of  some  value  in  the  way  of  preserv- 
ing the  forests  as  well  as  assisting  the  cooperage 
manufacturers  of  to-day  in  the  pursuit  of  their  lawful 
business. 

"Reforestation  will  have  to  be  conducted  under  the 
supervision  and  at  the  expense  of  the  general  govern- 
ment, if  done  to  any  valuable  extent.  Any  other 
scheme  will  fall  short  of  its  mark,  and  in  my  opinion 
the  best  way  to  get  at  that  would  be  for  the  Bureau  of 
Forestry  to  secure  tracts  of  land  known  to  be  suitable 
for  the  growing  of  oak  timber  and  no  other  hardwoods. 
Buy  or  secure  tracts  of  reasonable  size,  go  over  and 
replant  a  considerable  area,  under  the  charge  of  an 
expert  forester.  This  would  be  somewhat  of  a  kinder- 
garten, and  would  encourage  the  planting  and  culture 
of  timber  by  individuals,  and  improving  lands  that 
had  already  been  cut  over  and  otherwise  practically 
valueless.  The  remission  of  taxes  by  the  states  and 
the  bonuses  by  the  Government  in  view  of  planting  and 
cultivating  trees  in  certain  countries,  would  materially 
assist  in  the  reforestation  of  tracts  that  would  otherwise 
be  long  left  barren.  It  is  a  fact  that  the  best  oak  lands 
are  being  rapidly  put  into  cultivation  for  corn,  cotton, 
and  other  products  of  that  nature,  and  the  uplands  of 
hill  lands,  formerly  so  productive,  have  been  turned 
into  valuable  farms,  and  are  consequently  of  more 
value  to  the  owner  than  the  timber  proposition. 

"As  a  rule,  the  stave  manufacturers  of  the  country 
have  not  been  buyers  of  timber  until  recent  years, 
except  as  stumpage,  and  consequently  they  have  had 
no  interest  in  the  preservation  of  the  forests  and  want 
to  get  only  what  is  suitable  for  their  purpose. 

"As  there  is  only  a  comparatively  small  territory  in 


204  Procb:e:dings  o^  the: 

which  oak  timber  now  grows — that  is,  in  the  Southern 
States  and  the  eastern  part  of  Texas — and  seeing  that 
it  has  been  reduced  to  so  small  an  area,  it  is  undoubt- 
edly very  important  and  necessary  to  the  welfare  of 
the  country  in  general,  and  the  industry  that  we  are 
engaged  in  particularly,  that  the  scheme  of  reforesting 
this  section  on  comprehensible  and  intelligent  lines  be 
instituted  as  early  as  possible." 

What  I  have  touched  upon  thus  far  relates  most 
closely  to  the  tight-barrel  feature  of  the  cooperage 
business,  which  is  really  the  least  important  branch  of 
the  industry,  in  volume,  if  not  in  dollars.  The  slack- 
barrel  department  comprises  the  manufacture  of  barrels 
to  contain  loose  or  dry  products,  such  as  flour,  sugar, 
cement,  lime,  fruit,  truck,  and  other  things  far  too 
numerous  to  mention.  It  is  to  this  branch  of  the 
cooperage  industry  that  we  must  charge  the  annihila- 
tion and  destruction  of  our  elm  forests.  Their  hand 
is  stayed  in  that  direction  at  present,  to  some  extent, 
simply  because  there  are  now  no  forests  of  elm  to 
conquer,  and  all  of  this  havoc  has  been  wrought  in 
about  twenty-five  years.  Up  to  that  time  the  slack- 
barrel  people  were  at  work  on  a  contract  to  destroy  all 
the  red  oak  in  the  country,  as  at  that  time  oak  was  the 
chief  timber  used  in  slack  packages,  especially  for  flour 
and  sugar.  Owners  of  elm  timber,  purchased  for  a 
song,  taking  advantage  of  the  advancing  market  for. 
oak,  sought  to  prove  to  the  barrel  men  that  elm  was, 
at  least,  as  good  as  oak  for  their  purpose,  but  the 
innovation  was  looked  upon  with  little  patience. 
Finally,  however,  it  was  proven  conclusively  that  elm 
was  a  better  timber  for  this  purpose  than  oak,  and  for 
twenty  years  and  upwards  it  has  been  practically  the 
only  timber  used  for  slack -barrel  staves  and  hoops. 
The  supply,  however,  is  about  exhausted,  and  now  the 


American  Fori:st  Congre:ss  205 

enterprising  owners  of  gum  timber  tracts,  bought  as 
cheaply  as  elm  was  twenty  years  ago,  are  trying  to 
persuade  the  cooper  to  forsake  elm  and  accept  gum, 
and  in  this  praiseworthy  undertaking  the  Bureau  of 
Forestry  can  render  efficient  aid  by  demonstrating  how 
gum  may  be  most  effectively  utilized,  and  wastefulness 
discouraged ;  and  now  is  the  time  that  this  work  should 
be  undertaken.  One  of  my  contemporaries  says  that 
"it  is  the  traditional  policy  of  consumers  of  lumber  and 
timber  to  ignore  the  possibility  of  the  exhaustion  of  the 
timber  supply,  and  invariably  they  fail  to  realize  that 
fact  until  it  has  actually  taken  place."  That  suggestion 
fits  my  cooperage  friends  exactly.  Twenty-five  years 
ago  elm  and  oak  were  as  plentiful  in  the  Northern 
States  as  gum  and  oak  are  in  the  Southern  States  now, 
and  while  that  condition  exists  the  campaign  looking 
to  conservation  of  the  supply  should  be  entered  upon 
vigorously  and  determinedly,  while  the  campaign  for 
reforestation  of  the  denuded  lands  of  the  North  should 
also  be  organized  and  pressed  with  earnestness. 

With  all  the  pessimistic  sentiment  surrounding  this 
question  of  depleted  timber  supply,  however,  there 
comes  to  me  one  ray  of  light,  and  this  leads  me  to  the 
belief  that  the  situation  may  not  be  quite  as  black  as  it 
is  painted.  Looking  back  into  the  files  of  my  paper 
of  eighteen  and  twenty  years  ago,  I  note  news  items 
in  which  it  is  stated  that  this  manufacturer  of  staves 
and  that  manufacturer  of  heading,  located  in  portions 
of  Michigan,  Wisconsin,  Indiana,  and  Ohio,  "are 
seeking  new  locations,  because  the  timber  supply  is 
exhausted."  The  strange  part  of  it  is,  in  looking  over 
current  issues  I  find  that  now,  twenty  years  after,  the 
same  manufacturers  are  pegging  away  in  the  same 
place.  The  explanation  of  this  is  found  in  the  axiom 
that  "Necessity  knows  no  law."     These  manufacturers 


2o6  Procee:dings  o^  the; 

had  cut  out  the  largest  and  best  of  their  oak,  elm,  and 
basswood,  but  rather  than  seek  a  new  location  they 
concluded  that  perhaps  they  could  use  trees  less  than 
two  and  three  feet  in  diameter,  and  so  they  stayed  to 
cut  them.  After  these  were  gone,  they  noticed  that 
there  were  some  mighty  fine  maple  and  beech  trees 
left.  Well,  they  cut  the  largest  and  best  of  these,  and 
now  they  are  at  work  on  the  other  ones — not  so  large. 
Necessity  has  compelled  us  to  see  that  beech,  maple, 
and  birch  will  take  the  place  of  elm  and  basswood  for 
slack-cooperage  work,  and  we  are  also  learning  that 
gum  will  make  the  best  of  barrels,  when  handled 
properly,  and  I  presume  that  there  are  other  timbers 
growing  in  our  forests  that  only  need  intelligent  hand- 
ling to  become  equally  as  available.  Whatsoever  the 
American  Forestry  Association  or  the  Bureau  of  For- 
estry can  do  to  demonstrate  this,  to  prevent  waste  and 
destruction  by  fire  and  parasites,  and  to  renew  supplies, 
will  be  work  well  done,  and  which  will  go  far  to  justify 
the  establishing  and  support  of  such  a  department  of 
our  Government.  If  I  have  furnished  anything  of 
suggestion  that  will  aid  in  that  work  it  will  be  a  source 
of  gratification,  not  only  at  the  present,  but  in  the 
future,  when  the  beneficent  work  of  the  Bureau  has 
had  time  to  make  itself  apparent.  Indeed,  much  has 
already  been  accomplished,  and  while  Mr.  Defebaugh 
has  paid  a  just  and  proper  tribute  to  the  worth  and 
work  of  Secretary  Wilson  and  Chief  Pinchot,  I  cannot 
allow  this  opportunity  to  pass  without  saying  a  word 
for  missionaries  like  Dr.  Hermann  Von  Schrenk  and 
others  who  have  carried  the  war  "into  Africa,"  and 
gone  out  to  preach  the  gospel  of  forest  preservation 
and  restoration  among  the  heathen.  Their  work  has 
been  good  and  effective  work,  as  the  success  of  this 
Congress  fully  attests. 


PART  IV. 


IMPORTANCE    OF    THE    PUBLIC    FOREST 
LANDS  TO  GRAZING 


PRACTICAL  RESULTS  OF  THE  REGU- 
LATION OF  GRAZING  ON  THE 
FOREST  RESERVES 

BY 
A.  F.  POTTER 

Bureau  ol  Forestry 

I  N  the  administration  of  the  National  Forest  Re- 
serves, one  of  the  first  matters  of  importance  which 
the  Government  has  been  called  upon  to  settle,  is  the 
proper  adjustment  of  grazing  privileges.  It  has  often 
happened  that  in  the  establishment  of  forest  reserves 
the  customary  ranges  used  in  pasturing  live  stock  have 
been  included  and  consequently  the  stockmen  have 
been  directly  interested  in  the  rules  and  regulations 
and  the  policy  which  was  to  be  adopted  in  their  ad- 
ministration. 

At  first  there  was  considerable  doubt  as  to  the 
practicability  of  such  regulation  of  grazing  and  stock- 
men feared  that  the  restrictions  imposed  would  be  detri- 
mental to  their  interests.  The  sheepmen  were  alarmed 
because  at  first  the  rules  excluded  this  class  of  stock  en- 
tirely from  all  reserves  except  those  of  Oregon  and 
Washington,  and  consequently  they  strongly  opposed 
the  creation  of  forest  reserves  elsewhere  which  included 
large  areas  of  grazing  land.  By  investigations  which 
followed  it  was  found  that  in  many  of  the  reserves 
total  exclusion  of  sheep  was  unnecessary,  but  that  a 
limited  number  of  this  class  of  stock  could  safely  be 
allowed  under  such  restrictions  as  would  prevent 
injury  to  the  forest  and  insure  a  proper  use  of  the 
range.     The   regulations  were  therefore  so  modified 


2IO  Procej^dings  o^  the; 

as  to  permit  sheep  grazing  under  such  circumstances. 

The  Government  realizes  the  importance  of  the  Hve 
stock  industry  to  the  prosperity  of  the  Western  com- 
monwealth and  the  fact  that  a  very  large  proportion 
of  the  people  are  directly  dependent  upo|n  it  for  the 
support  of  their  homes. 

The  great  economic  value  of  the  forage  products 
of  the  forest  reserves  is  also  realized,  and  an  effort 
has  been  made  to  use  this  resource  in  the  way  which 
appears  to  be  best  for  the  interests  of  all  concerned. 

Care  has  been  taken  in  the  preparation  and  enforce- 
ment of  grazilng  regulations  to  avoid,  as  far  as 
possible,  any  unnecessary  disturbance  of  business  by 
sudden  changes'  in  the  manner  of  using  the  grazing 
lands.  An  effort  has  also  been  made  to  fit  the  regula- 
tions to  the  actual  needs  of  the  reserves  and  to  allow 
every  privilege  consistent  with  their  proper  care  and 
management. 

In  the  settlement  of  questions  concerning  the  use 
of  products  of  the  reserves  all  of  the  different  interests 
must  be  recognized  and  considered.  The  stockmen 
must  not  expect  to  be  allowed  to  use  the  grazing  land 
in  a  way  which  would  be  seriously  detrimental  to  the 
interests  of  the  farmer  depending  upon  the  water 
supply  from  the  reserve  for  irrigation,  or  which  would 
destroy  the  forest  growth.  The  lumberman  must  also 
consider  these  interests  and  the  future  welfare  of  the 
country,  and  be  willing  to  cut  and  handle  the  timber 
in  a  way  which  will  insure  a  continued  growth  of  the 
forest.  The  farmer  must  not  expect  the  Government 
to  entirely  stop  the  grazing  of  live  stock  or  the  cutting 
of  timber,  but  must  be  content  to  have  these  things 
done  under  a  proper  system  of  regulation. 

Whenever  it  has  been  found  that  modifications  or 
changes  in  the  regulations  were  needed  such  action 


American  Forest  Congress  211 

has  been  taken  as  promptly  as  opportunity  has  offered 
the  means  of  ascertaining  the  facts  in  such  cases. 

Investigation  of  the  ranges  has  shown  that  damage 
caused  by  Hve  stock  is  usually  due  to  overstocking, 
grazing  too  early  in  the  season,  or  the  manner  in 
which  the  stock  is  handlecLall  of  which  can  be  directly 
charged  to  the  previous  lacK  of  any  system  of  manage- 
ment rather  than  to  the  sheep  or  cattle. 

Overstocking  has  undoubtedly  been  by  far  the 
greatest  cause  of  range  destruction  and  decrease  in 
its  carrying  capacity.  Under  the  free  range  system 
of  the  west  there  has  been  very  little  restriction  as  to 
the  number  of  stock  anyone  had  the  privilege  of  pas- 
turing on  the  public  domain.  The  result  has  been 
that  the  ranges  in  many  different  localities  have  been 
very  badly  overcrowded  and  have  rapidly  declined  in 
their  pasturing  value. 

Some  of  the  ranges  which  were  included  within  the 
forest  reserves  have  been  overcrowded  with  live  stock, 
in  some  sections  with  sheep  and  goats,  and  others  with 
cattle  and  horses,  until  the  excessive  use  of  the  range 
had  resulted  in  injury  to  the  young  growing  forest, 
and  great  damage  to  the  forage  plants  and  grasses. 

On  the  creation  of  forest  reserves  in  such  localities 
in  many  cases  the  full  number  of  stock,  both  sheep 
and  cattle,  which  were  then  ranging  there,  have  been 
allowed  permits  during  the  first  year,  and  afterwards 
as  it  was  found  necessary.  The  number  has  been 
gradually  reduced  from  year  to  year  until  a  limit  was 
reached  which  would  allow  as  full  utilization  of  the 
forage  as  possible  without  injury  to  the  range.  The 
result  has  been  that  by  such  management  many  of  the 
badly  overgrazed  ranges  have  been  greatly  improved 
in  condition  and  grazing  value,  and  are  fast  being 
restored  to  their  former  usefulness. 


212  PrOCEEJDINGS    of    THE) 

The  damage  from  sheep  grazing  was  found  to  be 
largely  due  to  the  manner  in  which  they  were  handled, 
although  there  was  some  sign  of  browsing  young  trees 
over  the  entire  areas  which  had  been  overstocked. 
The  injury  from  this  cause  was  not  usually  serious 
except  along  routes  of  travel  used  in  moving  sheep 
from  one  range  to  another,  or  in  the  close  vicinity  of 
lambing  grounds,  and  old  camps. 

In  places  where  the  sheep  had  been  camped  on  the 
same  bed  ground  for  a  long  time,  perhaps  a  month  or 
more  in  the  same  place,  the  grass  and  forage  would 
be  completely  eaten  out  for  a  mile  or  so  around,  and 
many  of  the  young  seedling  trees  eaten  or  nibbled  by 
the  hungry  stock.  Damage  by  this  system  of  handling 
is  usually  entirely  unnecessary,  and  is  detrimental  to 
the  best  use  of  the  range,  as  well  as  injurious  to  the 
forest.  As  the  necessity  for  better  management  in  the 
use  of  the  range  has  become  apparent,  stockmen  have 
fast  realized  the  destructiveness  of  this  method  of 
handling  sheep,  and  have  adopted  the  plan  of  never 
bedding  them  more  than  two  or  three  nights  in  the 
same  place,  and  in  some  cases  never  driving  the  sheep 
to  a  bed  ground  at  all,  but  allowing  them  to  camp 
wherever  night  overtakes  them,  thus  reducing  the 
damage  from  this  cause  to  a  minimum,  and,  in  fact, 
almost  entirely  removing  it  in  many  cases. 

The  forest  reserve  regulations  on  this  point  require 
that  sheep  must  not  be  bedded  more  than  six  nights 
in  the  same  place,  and  the  practical  result  of  the  appli- 
cation of  this  rule  has  been  to  improve  the  condition 
of  many  portions  of  the  range. 

One  of  the  greatest  evils  in  the  destruction  of  forage 
on  the  summer  ranges  is  that  of  driving  the  stock  in 
too  early  in  the  season,  while  the  feed  it  yet  immature. 
Lack  of  range  control  is  usually  responsible  for  this 
condition. 


American  F'orest  Congress  213 

If  the  number  of  stock  to  be  driven  to  the  mountains 
for  pasture  exceeds  the  number  there  is  sufficient 
pasture  for,  there  is  often  some  particular  section  of 
the  range  which  one  man  desires  to  secure  ahead  of 
his  competitors,  and  in  the  struggle  to  get  there  first 
the  stock  are  driven  along  as  fast  as  possible  and 
destroys  as  much  feed  by  tramping  as  they  consume 
in  feeding.  In  some  sections  this  competition  for 
range  continues  during  the  entire  season,  and,  of 
course,  results  in  great  destruction  of  forage  as  well 
as  damage  to  the  forest  and  water  supply. 

Immediately  upon  a  range  coming  under  forest 
reserve  control,  the  damage  from  this  cause  is  checked 
and  a  better  use  of  the  forage  results.  Under  this 
system  of  management  the  dates  upon  which  stock 
will  be  allowed  to  enter  and  on  which  the  season  will 
close  are  designated,  and  the  ranges  are  divided  in* 
the  manner  which  appears  most  practicable,  so  that 
each  stockman  who  is  granted  a  permit,  knows  just 
what  portion  of  the  range  he  will  be  allowed  to  use, 
and  when  he  can  drive  his  stock  in.  Furthermore, 
he  knows  that  on  arriving  there  he  will  not  find  the 
range  already  occupied  by  someone  else,  consequently, 
there  is  no  need  for  any  haste  in  driving,  and  the 
stock  are  grazed  along  in  a  way  that  causes  little 
damage. 

It  has  been  found  in  some  cases  that  ranges  which 
apparently  were  greatly  overstocked  have  shown  a 
marked  improvement  in  condition  by  the  application 
of  the  grazing  regulations  without  any  reduction  in 
the  number  of  stock,  other  than  the  exclusion  of  tran- 
sient herds,  showing  clearly  that  the  damage  was  due 
largely  to  the  manner  in  which  the  stock  has  been 
handled. 

In  the  competition  for  free  range,  controversies  have 

H 


214  Proceedings  o^  the 

arisen  between  the  cattlemen  and  sheepmen,  or  between 
large  and  small  owners  of  stock,  which  have  sometimes 
resulted  in  open  warfare  with  an  occasional  homicide 
and  great  loss  of  property.  The  degree  to  which  this 
warfare  has  been  carried  has  been  governed  largely 
by  the  demand  for  the  use  of  the  range.  In  the  first 
occupancy  of  the  lands  by  stockmen,  the  ranges  would 
usually  be  divided  by  mutual  agreement  in  a  way  which 
would  give  each  sufficient  pasture  for  all  of  his  stock, 
either  sheep  or  cattle,  and  if  the  seasons  continued 
favorable  there  would  be  no  occasion  for  any  serious 
dispute  concerning  its  use.  If,  however,  a  certain 
portion  of  the  range  was  drought-stricken  and  there 
was  a  consequent  scarcity  of  feed  and  water,  the  stock 
belonging  to  the  occupants  of  that  portion  of  the 
range  would  naturally  drift  over  on  to  the  neighbor- 
ing ranges  where  conditions  were  more  favorable. 
As  long  as  this  did  not  result  in  overcrowding  to  the 
extent  that  all  of  the  stock  became  thin  in  flesh,  there 
might  be  a  little  grumbling,  but  no  serious  trouble 
would  arise.  Whenever  it  was  plainly  apparent,  how- 
ever, that  such  intrusion  upon  the  ranges  was  causing 
financial  loss,  the  first  step  taken  was  usually  to  notify 
the  owners  of  the  stock  to  remove  the  same  and  provide 
feed  and  water  for  them  elsewhere.  In  case  of  refusal 
on  the  part  of  the  owner,  there  being  no  law  for  the 
settlement  of  such  matters,  the  next  step  would  be  an 
attempt  to  remove  the  stock  by  force.  Just  what  re- 
sistance would  be  offered  was,  of  course,  always  a 
very  hard  matter  to  foretell;  sometimes  no  trouble 
would  arise,  and  at  other  times  it  would  result  se- 
riously. 

Owing  to  the  fact  that  sheep  are  herded  and  cattle 
usually  turned  loose,  the  sheepmen  have  had  an  advan- 
tage in  the  use  of  the  public  grazing  lands  because  of 


American  Forkst  Congrejss  215 

the  fact  that  they  had  their  business  under  a  better 
system  of  control.  In  case  of  lack  of  feed  or  water 
in  any  particular  locality  the  sheepman  could  imme- 
diately move  his  stock  to  other  and  better  pasture, 
while  it  was  necessary  for  the  cattleman  to  round  up 
or  gather  his  stock  before  any  such  move  could  be 
made,  and  this  often  meant  an  entire  season's  work. 
The  result  has  been  that  where  the  use  of  the  range 
has  been  unrestricted  the  number  of  sheep  has  in- 
creased more  rapidly  in  proportion  than  the  number 
of  cattle,  and  in  some  localities  the  sheepmen  have 
taken  possession  of  the  range  to  an  extent  that  it  has 
become  almost  impossible  for  the  settlers  to  find  pasture 
for  their  small  bands  of  cattle. 

The  result  of  forest  reserve  regulation  has  been  to 
settle  these  controversies  so  far  as  the  grazing  lands 
within  the  reserves  are  concerned,  and  an  important 
step  in  the  advancement  of  a  better  system  in  the 
management  of  grazing  lands  has  been  made.  After 
an  investigation  of  the  claims  presented  by  the  stock- 
men and  a  careful  consideration  of  all  interests 
concerned,  the  Government  has  defined  the  privileges 
to  be  granted  to  each  opposing  faction.  In  some  cases 
it  has  been  thought  advisable  to  exclude  sheep  from 
portions  of  certain  reserves  and  allow  cattlemen  the 
exclusive  use  of  such  areas.  In  such  cases,  however, 
whenever  it  has  appeared  that  it  was  necessary  for 
sheep  to  cross  closed  areas  in  being  driven  from  their 
customary  ranges  to  points  of  shipment  or  between 
summer  and  winter  ranges,  driveways  have  been  pro- 
vided to  meet  the  necessities  of  the  demand  and  allow 
the  proper  handling  of  the  stock.  In  other  cases  the 
reserves  have  been  divided  into  districts  in  which 
sheep  and  cattle  have  been  pastured  jointly,  the  number 
of  each  class  allowed  being  restricted  to  what  was 


2i6  Proceedings  of  the 

considered  a  fair  division  in  the  use  of  the  range.  It 
has  been  found  that  oftentimes  a  better  utilization  of 
the  forage  has  been  obtained  in  this  way,  as  there 
would  be  portions  of  each  district  which  were  better 
adapted  to  the  pasturing  of  one  class  of  stock  than 
the  other  at  certain  periods  of  the  season,  and  that 
sheep  would  eat  many  little  weeds  and  plants  which 
were  not  touched  by  cattle,  and  cattle  many  of  the 
coarser  grasses  which  the  sheep  did  not  feed  upon. 
As  long  as  the  total  number  of  each  class  of  stock  is 
restricted  to  the  actual  capacity  of  the  range  and  each 
stockman  knows  such  to  be  the  fact,  there  is  no  trouble 
between  the  different  owners,  and  all  soon  realize  the 
benefits  and  appreciate  the  value  of  this  system  of 
control. 

One  of  the  greatest  causes  of  forest  destruction 
throughout  the  West  has  been  fire,  and  the  prevention 
of  fires  is  one  of  the  most  difficult  problems  in  the 
management  of  the  reserves.  Just  how  far  the  stock- 
men have  been  responsible  for  the  destruction  of  the 
forest  by  fire  is  a  hard  matter  to  determine.  Burning 
to  clear  out  the  brush  and  undergrowth  so  that  cattle 
could  have  free  access  to  the  grass,  and  burning  the 
old  grass  in  places  where  it  had  not  been  grazed  off, 
for  the  purpose  of  securing  a  new  growth  of  green 
feed,  have  been  resorted  to  in  past  years,  but  these 
customs  have  been  almost  entirely  abandoned  on 
account  of  their  general  destructiveness. 

A  large  proportion  of  forest  fires  start  from  camp 
fires,  which  are  thoughtlessly  left  by  campers,  pros- 
pectors, hunters,  and  stockmen.  It  is  of  great  import- 
ance that  the  unnecessary  destruction  from  this  cause 
be  realized  and  every  precaution  taken  to  reduce  the 
prevalence  of  fires  started  in  this  way. 

The  reports  of  the  forest  reserve  supervisors  show 


American  Forest  Congress  217 

that  the  number  of  fires  starting  from  camp  fires  left 
by  stockmen  or  for  which  stockmen  are  in  any  way 
responsible  has  decreased  from  year  to  year,  and  also 
that  the  stockmen  have  been  the  most  willing  volun- 
teers and  rendered  the  most  efifective  service  wherever 
assistance  was  needed  in  fighting  forest  fires  starting 
from  any  cause.  On  account  of  their  presence  on  the 
ground,  so  that  service  could  be  rendered  on  short 
notice,  stockmen  have  greatly  assisted  the  forest  reserve 
officers  in  saving  large  areas  of  timber  from  destruction 
by  fire.  It  seems  fair  to  say  that  one  of  the  practical 
results  of  the  regulation  of  grazing  has  been  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  strong  and  eflfective  volunteer  fire 
service. 

The  stockman  has  learned  from  experience  that 
forest  reserve  protection  of  the  summer  ranges  means 
an  improvement  in  the  condition  of  his  stock  and  an 
increase  in  the  profits  of  his  business.  During  the 
past  season  when  stock  in  many  range  sections  suffered 
severely  on  account  of  lack  of  food  and  water,  those 
who  were  fortunate  enough  to  have  pasturing  privi- 
leges in  the  forest  reserves  were  able  to  get  their  stock 
fat.  While  many  of  the  outside  stock  on  overcrowded 
ranged  remained  thin  in  flesh,  the  result  being  that  the 
stock  pastured  on  the  forest  reserves  were  in  better 
demand  and  sold  for  more  money  than  those  from  the 
outside  ranges. 

As  the  policy  of  the  Government  becomes  better 
understood  and  the  benefits  to  be  derived  from  judi- 
cious management  of  the  grazing  land  is  shown  by 
practical  demonstration,  the  opposition  of  the  stockmen 
to  the  creation  of  forest  reserves  will  be  entirely 
removed  and  they  will  cooperate  with  the  Government 
in  the  proper  regulation  of  grazing  and  the  permanent 
improvement  of  the  ranges. 


THE  PROTECTION  OF  HOME  BUILDERS 

IN  THE  REGULATION  OF  GRAZ-i 

ING  ON  FOREST  RESERVES 

BY 

E.  S.  GOSNEY 

President  Arizona  Woolgrowers'  Association 

'T'HE  home  was  the  foundation  of  the  first  laws  of 
civilization,  it  always  has  been  and  must  remain 
the  foundation  of  every  independent  government  of 
the  people  by  the  people.  The  necessity  of  the  fullest 
protection  of  the  homes  of  our  country  and  the  builders 
of  these  homes  is  seldom  realized  and  never  over- 
estimated. 

By  "home-builders"  we  do  not  mean  the  dwellers 
in  palaces  of  wealth  and  luxury,  nor  do  we  mean  the 
shiftless  nomad.  But  we  refer  to  that  great  class  of 
honest,  loyal  Americans  of  limited  means  who  have  a 
substantial  appreciation  of  home  and  country.  Those 
people  whose  highest  ambition  is  to  build  a  home  of 
their  own  for  themselves  and  their  families  where 
they  can  live  in  comfort,  frugal  independence,  and 
happiness.  Such  homes  have  given  us  our  Lincolns, 
our  Grants  and  our  Garfields.  They  have  given  this 
country  its  high  place  as  a  nation  among  nations. 
They  include  all  classes  and  grades  of  intelligence, 
education,  and  refinement.  Honest  purpose  is  the 
only  requisite  to  bring  them  within  the  class  of  home- 
builders.  A  man's  capacity,  energy  and  environments 
determine  the  character  of  the  home  he  will  build; 
but  on  the  protection  of  such  homes,  the  development 
of  their  integrity  and  patriotism,  depend  the  life  of 


American  Forest  Congress  219 

the  nation  and  the  protection  of  our  property  and 
person. 

Such  citizens  demand  careful,  patient  consideration, 
whether  encountered  in  the  mines,  factories,  and  farms 
of  the  East  or  on  the  mountains  and  plains  of  the 
West.  And  this  is  especially  true  of  the  Western 
forest  reserve  management,  because  it  embodies  a 
radical  innovation  on  their  customs,  rights,  and  life. 

Many  persons  dwell  in  the  towns,  villages,  and  the 
country  throughout  these  reserves  and  in  the  irri- 
gated and  unirrigated  districts  below  and  about  the 
reserves.  They  arc  cattlemen,  horsemen,  sheepmen, 
farmers,  or  miners,  as  the  case  may  be,  and  the  con- 
fidence and  cooperation  of  each  of  these  men,  espe- 
cially the  stockmen,  is  necessary  to  a  full  protection 
of  the  forest  reserves  and  a  full  realization  of  the  high 
purposes  of  forestry.  The  administration  needs  their 
confidence  and  cooperation,  and  they  need  the  pro- 
tection of  fair,  just,  and  intelligent  regulations  and 
management  in  the  grazing  as  in  all  other  regulations 
for  the  protection  of  their  interests  in  whatever  class 
they  fall. 

President  Roosevelt,  standing  in  the  pine  forest  on 
the  rim  of  the  Grand  Canyon  of  the  Colorado,  a  few 
months  ago,  said  of  our  Arizona  forest  reserves,  "Use 
them  for  grazing,  for  farming,  for  lumber,  for  what- 
ever they  are  best  adapted,  but  so  use  them  that  you 
will  not  destroy  their  usefulness  for  future  genera- 
tions." And  in  his  heart  every  man  in  that  audience 
said,  "Amen."  The  difference  comes  only  when  you 
attempt  to  decide  what  use  is  harmful  and  what  use 
is  protective  in  its  results,  honest  differences  as  yet 
unsettled,  and  usually  the  theorist  who  rushes  over 
the  reserve  on  a  hurried  tour  of  inspection  or  rides 
through  on  a  train  at  forty  miles  an  hour  is  the  most 
positive  as  to  necessary  regulations  and  results. 


220  PrOCE:EDINGS    OF    TH^ 

It  is  unfortunate  that  in  connection  with  the  creation 
of  forest  reserves  there  have  been  opportunities 
through  the  "Heu  land"  laws  and  the  railroad  grants 
for  lands  for  private  speculation  running  into  millions 
of  acres  and  multiples  of  millions  of  dollars  which 
have  naturally  been  taken  advantage  of,  and  in  the 
manipulation  of  these  schemes  every  means,  in  Wash- 
ington and  out  of  it,  has  been  made  use  of.  Men 
have  made  it  their  business  to  go  among  the  people 
and  agitate  with  extravagant  theories  and  spread  false 
representations  by  public  and  private  statements  and 
subsidized  newspapers,  to  the  great  injustice  and  dam- 
age of  all  grazing  industries,  especially  sheep,  and  of 
every  interest  affected  except  the  scheme  that  was 
covered  with  this  veneering  of  pretended  interest  in 
forestry.  In  this  way  public  sentiment  was  created 
favoring  extended  forest  reserves  where  no  forest 
existed,  more  ''lieu  lands,"  and  incidentally  more  spec- 
ulation and  bitterness  and  distrust  among  the  people 
and  toward  the  cause  of  forestry. 

The  field  work  in  connection  with  forest  grazing 
regulations  is  new  and  necessarily  handled  in  many 
cases  by  inexperienced  and  overconfident  representa- 
tives. Many  crude  and  unjust  rulings  and  damaging 
regulations  have  been  the  result  of  the  over-confidence 
of  such  representatives.  Range  allotments  must  not 
be  arbitrarily  changed  on  the  protest  of  one  party 
without  notice  to  others  interested  and  due  regard  to 
water  rights  and  the  carrying  capacity  of  the  ranges. 
Stock  trails  must  not  be  established  with  regulations 
that  would  damage  the  interests  involved  and  consti- 
tute a  fit  subject  for  the  attention  of  humane  societies 
to  prevent  cruelty  to  the  animals  confined  to  such  trails 
without  adequate  feed  or  water.  Regulations  as  to 
water   development   must   not   discourage   and   retard 


American  Forest  Congress  221 

rather  than  protect  and  encourage  such  work  in  arid 
regions.  To  assure  this  the  field  inspector  must  be  a 
man  of  experience  and  exceptional  ability,  and  the 
office  force  at  Washington  must  not  only  be  good  men, 
as  they  are,  but  they-  must  be  given  an  opportunity 
to  learn  these  conditions  and  to  study  in  the  field  the 
methods  of  handling  stock,  lest  in  overcoming  one 
difficulty  they  create  others  they  know  not  of.  The 
people  interested  must  be  fully  advised  and  consulted 
as  to  such  regulations,  then  the  facts  and  results  will 
be  understood  and  mistakes  avoided.  It  must  be  re- 
membered that  the  mass  of  the  people  familiar  with  the 
range  conditions  can  see  no  excuse  for  such  mistakes, 
and  believe  them  to  be  the  result  of  a  reckless  disregard 
of  their  interests  and  rights.  There  must  be  closer 
relations  between  the  stockmen  and  home-builders, 
and  the  forest  officials.  Their  representations  must  be 
frank  and  open;  they  must  know  one  another.  If 
there  are  conflicting  interests  the  parties  must  be 
brought  together  and  no  contest  settled  on  an  ex-parte 
hearing.  Before  any  radical  change  is  made,  the  in- 
terests affected  should  have  a  hearing,  and  candor, 
honesty  and  frankness  should  be  recognized  and  due 
appreciation  shown,  while  selfish  misrepresentations 
and  willful  disregard  of  regulations  and  the  rights 
of  others  should  be  sufficient  cause  for  ridding  the 
reserves  of  this  irresponsible  class  of  men.  We  spend 
millions  annually  educating  the  children.  We  should 
give  some  time  and  attention  to  the  conservative  edu- 
cation of  citizens  in  and  about  forest  reserves,  likewise 
to  the  training  of  rangers  and  administrative  officers 
in  the  interest  of  harmony,  of  intelligent  appreciation, 
and  of  the  necessities  of  the  requirements  and  changed 
conditions. 

The  general  principles  recommended  bv  the  Bureau 


222  Proceedings  o^  the 

of  Forestry  a  few  years  ago  and  endorsed  by  the 
Secretary  of  the  Interior,  but  not  yet  put  to  practical 
use,  were  sound  as  a  basis.  Some  day  these  principles 
and  regulations  now  being  worked  out  for  the  control 
of  grazing  on  forest  reserves  will  be  carried  out  in  all 
or  most  of  the  public  grazing  lands  with  such  modifica- 
tions as  may  be  found  necessary  in  each  locality;  and 
the  regulations  for  each  locality  must  be  governed  by 
local  conditions.  The  chief  danger  is  too  great  haste, 
over-confidence. 

There  is  no  real  conflict  of  interest  between  the 
home-builder  on  the  irrigated  ranch  and  the  home- 
builder  in  the  forest  reserve,  with  his  cattle  or  sheep 
grazing  on  the  public  lands.  Whatever  destroys  the 
productiveness  of  the  soil,  whether  too  many  stock, 
bad  management,  fire,  or  recklessness  in  any  manner, 
damages  all.  The  stockman  largely  consumes  the 
product  of  the  farm  and  the  farm  provides  the  necessa- 
ries of  the  stockman.  The  conflicts  between  cattle 
and  sheep  interests  are  the  clashing  of  individual  in- 
terests and  not  of  the  two  industries.  The  very  food 
they  eat  is  different.  Cattle  eat  the  grass,  sheep  the 
weeds  of  the  range  when  left  to  their  choice.  If  the 
individuals  can  be  brought  together  and  calmly  talk 
their  differences  over,  90  per  cent,  of  such  evils  will 
disappear. 

I  shall  not  attempt  to  lay  down  a  code  of  regulations 
for  grazing  on  forest  reserves  or  off  of  them.  The 
man  or  men  who  attempt  to  fix  in  advance  anything 
more  than  the  general  principles  of  such  regulations 
will  fail.  Let  us  remember  that  it  has  required  more 
than  half  a  century  to  build  up  the  mining  laws  and 
regulations  of  our  country,  imperfect  as  they  still 
are,  and  they  were  all  based  upon  and  grew  out  of 
a  few  general  principles  and  simple  rules  agreed  upon 


American  Forest  Congress  223 

by  a  handful  of  sturdy  prospectors  and  miners  who 
gathered  about  their  California  campfires  sixty  years 
ago.  Their  problem  was  simple  compared  to  the  graz- 
ing problem.  If  these  men  could  not  then  devise  a 
perfected  system  applicable  to  the  varied  interests  that 
the  subsequent  development  of  the  mineral  wealth  of 
our  country  have  presented,  how  can  they  devise  rules 
and  regulations  for  all  climates  and  conditions  of 
grazing?  These  must  be  the  growth  of  experience 
in  each  locality,  the  slow  evolution  of  the  industry 
from  which  the  speculator  and  the  theorist  must  be 
eliminated. 

For  some  reason  the  average  expert,  examining  the 
forest  or  range  on  any  point  of  policy  or  use,  seems 
to  feel  called  upon  to  keep  his  business  a  profound 
secret,  especially  from  those  settlers  whose  experience 
and  observation  in  the  locality,  form  one  of  the  neces- 
sary premises  of  logical,  correct  conclusion  and  report. 
These  methods  tend  to  create  and  develop  a  spirit  of 
distrust  between  the  settler  and  the  official,  instead  of 
confidence  and  cooperation.  This  criticism  is  not 
applicable  to  all,  but  is  quite  prevalent  and  calls  for  a 
radical  reform  in  methods.  The  pioneer  stockman 
or  settler  knows  more  about  his  own  range  than  any 
expert  and  he  must  be  reckoned  with  in  any  final  solu- 
tion. The  average  expert  on  forestry  or  grazing 
operating  unaided  in  a  country  new  to  him  is  one  of 
the  most  fallible  men  I  know,  however  honest  or  ex- 
tensively drilled  in  technical  schools. 

Much  depends  upon  the  supervisor  of  a  forest  re- 
serve, who  must  be  a  strong  man,  with  plenty  of 
common  sense.  He  must  not  be  opinionated  or  unduly 
sensitive.  He  must  be  a  man  of  character,  a  judge  of 
men,  and  ever  ready  to  learn  from  the  most  humble 
»ad   illiterate  home-builder,   and  to  patiently   advise 


224  Proceedings  of  the 

and  guide  such  people  into  the  correct  lines  of  thought 
and  action.  I  fully  realize  such  men  are  not  plentiful, 
but  they  exist  and  must  be  had,  and  when  found,  and 
by  experience  educated,  should  be  retained.  They  in 
turn  must  be  guided  by  a  more  wise  and  inspiring 
administration  at  Washington.  Give  the  home-build- 
ers in  and  about  these  forest  reserves  an  administration 
in  which  they  have  full  confidence,  one  whose  officers 
do  not  get  out  of  humor  and  write  petulant  and  un- 
called for  letters  and  orders  before  they  thoroughly 
understand  the  facts;  an  administration  which  always 
consults  the  people  as  to  the  people's  needs  and  fully 
advises  them  as  to  the  supposed  needs  of  the  forest 
and  the  objects  of  any  and  all  restrictions.  When  this 
confidence  is  established  and  a  few  unruly  and  disturb- 
ing elements  are  judiciously  amputated  from  the  body 
of  stock  grazers  you  will  have  among  stockmen  and 
home-builders  a  class  of  forest  protectors  worth  more 
to  the  service  and  to  forestry  than  all  the  rangers  the 
government  can  employ,  a  class  of  men  you  cannot 
hire. 

Perhaps  the  most  dangerous  element  the  people  are 
facing  to-day  on  the  grazing  question,  whether  in  the 
forest  reserves  or  on  the  public  domain  outside,  is  the 
land  and  stock  monopolies.  I  speak  of  these  with 
hesitancy,  knowing  that  my  position  will  be  misunder- 
stood and  misconstrued  by  many.  Among  these  large 
stock  and  land  companies  are  some  of  the  ablest  and 
best  men  of  the  country ;  many  of  them  are  my  friends ; 
most  of  them  are  employed  on  tempting  salaries  to 
look  after  the  interests  of  these  large  companies;  em- 
ployed because  of  their  splendid  abilities,  their  char- 
acter, and  influence ;  and,  like  faithful  advocates,  they 
are  doing  their  duty  most  admirably.  The  time  was 
when   there   was   little   or   no   conflict   between   these 


American  Forkst  Congress  225 

interests,  and  the  few  small  stockmen  and  home- 
builders.  Then  came  the  "rustler,"  who,  tempted  by 
opportunity,  appropriated  the  cattle  and  stock  of  these 
companies  along  with  parts  of  the  range,  and  I  am 
sorry  the  ^'rustler"  is  not  yet  extinct.  But  the  public 
lands  of  the  West  are  rapidly  filling  with  real  home- 
builders,  and  these  large  ranges,  outside  of  the  Mexi- 
can grant  lands  and  private  holdings,  must  be  given 
up  to  the  use  of  the  settlers.  We,  whose  stock  feed  in 
large  pastures  and  cover  large  areas  of  public  lands, 
must  gradually  give  way  to  the  smaller  home-builder ; 
and  I  regard  the  change  as  no  individual  calamity, 
but  as  a  part  of  the  evolution  of  the  greatest  country 
and  best  government  civilization  has  known. 

The  powers  that  control  these  large  companies  and 
employ  our  friends,  their  advocates,  will  give  up  with 
reluctance  and  only  at  the  end  of  a  hard  struggle.  To 
this  end  Congress  has  been  besieged  with  lobbies  and 
bills  for  the  leasing  of  the  public  domain,  and  for  the 
exchange  and  consolidation  of  the  railroad  grant  lands 
all  in  the  interest  of  these  monopolies,  but  shrewdly  and 
ably  covered  up  a  veneering  of  some  benefits  to  the 
public,  real  or  imaginary. 

These  measures  are  dangerous  because  of  the  money 
behind  them,  of  the  ability  and  character  of  their  ad- 
vocates, and  because  of  the  sincerity  of  some  begotten 
of  the  study  of  one  side  only,  and  chiefly  because,  for 
the  most  part,  but  one  side  is  represented  in  the  contest. 
The  home-builders  are  busy  with  their  home  affairs; 
individually  they  have  neither  the  means  nor  training 
necessary  to  meet  the  arguments  of  the  interests  that 
threaten  them.  They  have  no  organization  and,  in 
fact,  few  of  them  know  what  is  being  done  for  or 
against  their  interests ;  but  let  some  of  these  deceptive, 
unwise,   and   unjust  measures   pass   Congress,   which 


226  Procee:dings  of  the: 

will  deprive  the  honest  home-builder  of  a  just  propor- 
tion of  the  public  range  about  the  home  he  has  built, 
or  is  building,  and  you  have  sown  in  the  heart  of  that 
home  and  of  every  humble  home  in  that  community 
the  seeds  of  discontent  and  distrust  and  have  gone  one 
step  back  toward  anarchy. 

The  discussion  of  this  question  cannot  be  limited 
to  the  forest  reserves ;  and  they  tell  us  the  land  suitable 
for  the  home-builder  is  all  gone ;  that  there  is  no  more 
farming  land  and  it  is  time  the  Government  should 
classify  what  is  left,  dispose  of  grazing  lands  for  graz- 
ing purposes,  and  "go  out  of  the  land  business."  No 
statement  could  be  more  incorrect  or  misleading.  We 
are  just  beginning  to  learn  the  value  and  use  of  the 
land  of  the  West. 

Some  years  ago  the  founder  of  a  great  land  and 
stock  company  was  driving  with  a  boy  through  the 
great  San  Joaquin  Valley  of  California.  They  saw 
a  team  plowing  in  the  distance  and  drove  on.  After 
courteous  salutations,  the  conversation  ran  like  this : 

"Are  you  preparing  to  put  in  a  crop  here?" 

"Yes." 

"What  kind  of  a  crop  do  you  think  you  can  raise 
in  this  valley?" 

"Wheat." 

"How  long  have  you  been  in  this  country  ?" 

"About  three  months," 

"I  thought  so." 

"Don't  you  think  I  can  raise  wheat  here?" 

"I  know  you  cannot." 

"How  long  have  you  been  here?" 

"Thirty  years." 

"I  thought  so." 

This  is  not  a  story  created  for  the  occasion.  It  is  a 
historical  fact.     The  boy  is  one  of  the  honored  mem- 


American  Fore:st  Congrejss  227 

bers  of  this  Congress.  His  companion  was  one  of 
California's  most  able  and  eminent  men,  a  mental 
athlete  who  failed,  after  thirty  years  of  experience 
and  observation,  to  classify  the  great  San  Joaquin 
Valley  as  agricultural.  In  view  of  such  experiences, 
what  must  we  expect  of  any  expert  or  commission 
charged  with  the  classification  of  the  vast  areas  of  arid 
lands.  What  could  the  expert  have  told  you  of  the 
oil  wells  of  California  and  Texas  thirty  years  ago? 

With  the  rapid  development  of  irrigation  and  water 
storage  with  governmental  aid,  and  with  the  develop- 
ment of  water  from  beneath  the  surface  scarcely  be- 
gun, the  future  possibilities  of  the  deserts,  valleys,  and 
plains  of  the  Western  domain  are  yet  beyond  our 
comprehension,  and  the  Government  should  hold  fast 
these  titles  for  the  home-builders  of  the  future  which 
will  come  with  these  developments. 

Through  each  step  of  this  evolution  we  must  re- 
member the  absent  home-builders  of  little  means  and 
limited  opportunities,  and  zealously  protect  their  op- 
portunities for  the  future  against  the  encroachments 
of  the  strong  and  aggressive,  if  we  expect  them  to 
raise  up  patriotic  sons  and  daughters  who  will  perpet- 
uate this  as  a  just  and  free  government;  the  grandest 
heritage  we  can  leave  to  our  posterity,  to  humanity. 


ADVANTAGE  OF  COOPERATION  BE- 
TWEEN THE  GOVERNMENT  AND 
LIVE  STOCK  ASSOCIATIONS  IN  THE 
REGULATION  AND  CONTROL  OF 
GRAZING  ON  FOREST  RESERVES 

BY 

FRED  P.  JOHNSON 

Secretary  National  Live  Stock  Association 

A  SSUMING  that  it  is  conceded  that  the  forest  re- 
serves may  be  used  in  an  economical  manner  for 
the  grazing  of  Hve  stock,  the  absolute  necessity  of  an 
efficient  control  and  regulation  of  this  privilege,  for 
the  protection  of  the  reserves,  must  be  admitted. 

To  those  not  familiar  with  the  vast  areas  the  forest 
reserves  cover,  the  task  of  providing  an  efficient  patrol 
to  guard  them  and  prevent  their  injury,  may  seem  a 
mere  matter  of  detail.  Those  who  are  familiar  with 
these  conditions,  on  the  contrary,  are  inclined  to  the 
belief  that  the  whole  United  States  Army  would  hardly 
furnish  enough  men  to  give  the  adequate  protection 
needed.  While,  under  the  present  system  of  patrol,  a 
small  army  of  men  are  in  service,  the  protection  af- 
forded is  only  nominal.  How  then  can  the  stockmen 
be  allowed  to  graze  in  these  reserves  with  the  assurance 
that  they  will  be  rightly  used,  and  not  only  the  grazing, 
but  the  forests  as  well,  be  protected  from  misuse  and 
vandalism,  for  there  is  vandalism  in  grazing  as  well  as 
in  the  destruction  of  forests? 

From  my  knowledge  of  the  stockmen  in  the  West, 
I  can  assert  that  there  is  no  class  of  men  more  vitally 


American  Forest  Congress  229 

interested  in  sane  and  reasonable  forest  protection  than 
the  stockmen.  If  given  an  opportunity,  no  class  of 
men  could  furnish  more  absolute  and  reliable  protec- 
tion for  these  reserves.  But  would  they  do  it?  Yes, 
if  properly  approached  in  the  matter. 

The  western  stockman  is  of  a  peculiar  disposition^ 
due  probably  to  his  environment.  Restless  and  impa- 
tient under  any  attempt  to  bind  him  to  iron-clad  rules 
and  regulations,  yet,  when  approached  with  a  request 
for  help  and  assistance,  even  though  he  may  derive  no 
benefit,  he  is  quick  to  respond.  It  has  been  the  failure 
of  governmental  departments  to  understand  this  phase 
of  his  character  that  has  resulted  in  much  opposition 
to  forest  reserves.  As  the  pioneer,  who  braved  the 
dangers  and  hardships  of  the  frontier  to  open  the  way 
to  civilization,  he  has  felt  that  he  had  acquired  some 
moral  rights  which  even  the  Government  should  re- 
spect, and  to  have  a  stranger  ride  up  to  him  while  on 
the  range  and  dictate  to  him  things  that  he  may  or  may 
not  do,  even  though  spoken  in  the  name  of  the  Govern- 
ment, is  galling  to  his  pride  and  that  feeling  of  absolute 
freedom  which  has  been  bred  into  his  nature.  Ap- 
proached by  the  proper  officials  with  an  explanation 
of  the  necessity  of  the  forest  reserves ;  the  good  that 
will  eventually  result  to  him  from  their  establishment, 
and  a  request  for  assistance  in  maintaining  them  and 
carrying  out  the  plans  of  the  Government,  would  meet 
with  immediate  and  hearty  response. 

All  over  the  West  there  are  organizations  of  stock- 
men who  have  associated  themselves  together  for  the 
protection  of  their  interests  and  for  the  improvement 
of  conditions  in  their  industry.  These  organizations 
are  composed  of  the  leading  and  progressive  stockmen 
in  the  various  districts.  These  are  men  who  are  build- 
ing homes  in  the  desert  and  they  are  profoundly  inter- 


230  Proceedings  o^  the 

ested  in  anything  that  affects  the  prosperity  of  their 
locaHty.  Here,  already  organized,  is  an  army  of  men 
greater  than  any  the  Government  could  press  into 
service  for  this  purpose,  ready,  willing,  effective,  and 
to  be  had  for  the  asking.  The  Government  has  only 
to  request  that  in  return  for  the  privilege  of  grazing 
on  these  reserves,  that  the  organized  stock  association 
assume  the  task  of  protecting  them,  fostering  the  vege- 
tation and  preventing  fire  and  vandalism.  It  is  pos- 
sible that  many  of  them  do  not  thoroughly  understand 
the  problem  the  Government  has  undertaken  to  solve; 
then  they  should  be  enlightened,  and  it  would  be  found 
that  there  would  be  no  more  enthusiastic  supporters 
of  the  reserves  than  the  stockmen. 

It  must  not  be  understood  that  I  advocate  the  com- 
plete turning  over  of  these  reserves  to  the  stock 
interests.  The  Government  control  and  supervision 
must  be  absolute,  but  the  organized  stockmen  could  be 
sworn  in  as  forest  officers.  They  should  have  at  least 
an  advisory  voice  in  the  making  of  the  rules  and  regu- 
lations and  in  return  should  be  given  as  much  freedom 
in  the  use  of  the  reserves  for  grazing  purposes  as 
would  be  consistent  and  in  keeping  with  the  objects  to 
be  attained. 

The  advantage  of  such  cooperation  between  the 
government  and  stockmen  must  be  evident.  The 
advantage  to  the  Government  is  to  enlist  the  active 
assistance  of  men  who  live  on  the  ground,  as  it  were, 
in  the  advancement  of  the  forest  reserve  idea.  Under 
such  an  arrangement  the  reserves  would  have  a  better 
protection  than  could  possibly  be  obtained  in  any  other 
way  and  at  the  minimum  cost  for  administration.  In- 
stead of  the  antagonism  of  a  large  class  of  citizens  who 
really  have  rights  that  the  public  is  morally  bound  to 
respect,  you  will  have  their  enthusiastic  support.     This, 


Amkrican  Forest  Congress  231 

in  my  mind,  is  worth  much.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
stockmen  are  made  to  reaHze  that  these  reserves  are 
being  maintained  for  the  benefit  of  the  community  in 
which  they  Hve,  and  they,  having  secured  a  personal 
interest  in  the  success  of  the  idea,  will  do  their  utmost 
to  build  up  the  reserves  along  the  lines  desired.  While 
they  are  given  the  right  to  use  the  reserves  for  grazing 
purposes,  the  privilege  will  not  be  abused  under  such 
conditions,  for  the  community,  being  interested,  will 
permit  no  abuse. 

The  time  to  inaugurate  the  proposed  plan  is  at  hand, 
since  the  reserves  have  passed  into  the  control  of  the 
Department  of  Agriculture,  through  the  recent  passage 
of  a  bill  by  Congress  transferring  the  administration 
of  the  reserves  from  the  Department  of  the  Interior. 
The  Department  of  Agriculture  is  closer  to  the  stock- 
man than  any  other  department  of  the  Government, 
and  now  that  the  transfer  is  accomplished  it  will  be  an 
easy  matter  to  secure  this  cooperation. 

It  is  unnecessary  in  a  paper  of  this  kind  to  go  into 
the  details  of  a  plan  to  secure  this  cooperation.  It  is 
a  perfectly  simple  matter,  and  where  there  at  present 
does  not  exist  live  stock  associations  to  take  up  this 
work,  they  would  be  quickly  organized  when  it  was 
understood  that  the  Government  was  willing  to  recog- 
nize them  and  accept  their  assistance  in  the  building 
up  of  the  reserves  and  in  the  maintenance  of  their 
safety  and  integrity.  As  to  the  question  of  the  wisdom 
of  adopting  the  policy  suggested,  it  seems  to  me  that 
there  can  be  no  negative  argument  worth  considering, 
none  at  least  from  those  who  understand  the  actual 
conditions  in  the  West. 


NECESSITY  OF  USING  THE  FOREST  RE- 
SERVES  FOR  GRAZING  PURPOSES 

BY 

SENATOR  FRANCIS  E.  WARREN 

President  National  Woolgrowers'  Association 

pOREST  protection  in  the  United  States  by  Govern- 
ment interposition  is  of  recent  origin,  dating  from 
March  3,  1891,  when  in  the  act  to  repeal  the  timber 
culture  laws,  a  section  was  placed  conferring  upon  the 
President  authority  to  set  apart  and  reserve  public 
lands,  wholly  or  in  part  covered  with  timber  or  under- 
growth, whether  of  commercial  value  or  not,  as  public 
reservations. 

If  the  law  authorizing  the  creation  of  forest  reserves 
had  been  enacted  half  a  century  earlier,  the  people  of 
the  United  States  would  to-day  be  richer  than  they 
are  by  billions  of  dollars,  the  value  of  countless  acres 
of  timber  wasted  in  the  ruthless  rush  for  earlier  devel- 
opment of  the  country  and  destroyed  by  fire  for  want 
of  adequate  protection,  mainly  the  latter. 

The  forestry  reserve  law  which  took  the  place  of 
the  timber-culture  law  (under  which  nine  millions  of 
acres  of  public  lands  passed  into  the  ownership  of 
individuals),  is  simple  in  terms  and  occupies  but  brief 
space  in  the  statutes.  But  its  efifect  has  been  far-reach- 
ing, and  under  it  has  grown  up  in  the  brief  period  it 
has  been  in  existence  a  new  and  important  branch  of 
governmental  administration. 

The  forest  reserve  law  has  been  taken  advantages  of 
during  every  year  since  its  enactment  for  the  creation 
of  forest  reserves,  excepting  during  the  years   1894, 


Ame:rican  Forest  Congress  233 

1895,  and  1896.  During  the  other  eleven  years  the 
law  has  been  in  operation  the  several  Presidents  have 
issued  proclamations  creating  fifty-nine  forest  reserves, 
embracing  62,763,494  acres,  an  area  so  great  that  com- 
parisons are  necessary  in  order  to  obtain  an  adequate 
conception  of  it. 

If  the  various  reserves  were  assembled  in  one  com- 
pact tract,  the  aggregate  area  would  be  greater  than 
that  of  the  great  State  of  Wyoming;  greater  than  the 
area  of  Michigan,  of  Oregon,  of  Utah,  of  Minnesota, 
or  of  Nebraska.  It  would  be  greater  than  the  com- 
bined area  of  all  the  New  England  States,  with  New 
Jersey  and  Delaware  thrown  in  for  good  measure,  and 
it  would  be  greater  than  New  York  and  Pennsylvania 
combined. 

The  primary  object  of  the  creation  of  forest  reserves 
was  that  the  timber  supply  of  the  country  might  be 
husbanded  and  preserved,  and  that  the  denudation  of 
the  great  timbered  areas  of  the  country,  which  was 
progressing  with  fateful  rapidity,  might  be  choked. 
But  with  the  creation  of  the  reserves  a  more  important 
object  was  evolved,  and  that  is  the  preservation  of  the 
water  supply.  I  cannot  better  describe  this  object  than 
by  quoting  from  the  message  of  President  Roosevelt 
to  Congress  at  the  opening  of  its  present  session : 

"This"  (the  preservation  of  the  water  supply)  "is 
their  most  important  use.  The  principal  users  of  the 
water  thus  preserved  are  irrigation  ranchers  and  set- 
tlers, cities  and  town  to  whom  their  municipal  water 
supplies  are  of  the  very  first  importance,  users  and 
furnishers  of  water  power,  and  the  users  of  water  for 
domestic,  manufacturing,  mining,  and  other  purposes. 
All  these  are  directly  dependent  upon  the  forest 
reserves." 

The  beneficial  object  of  the  withdrawal  from  unre- 


234  Proceedings  of  the 

stricted  public  use  of  the  forest  lands  of  the  West  and 
their  creation  into  reservations,  has  the  endorsement 
of  residents  of  Western  States,  even  though  the  public 
land  area  of  those  States  is  seriously  diminished.  The 
Western  people,  patriotic  in  all  things,  acquiesced  in 
the  intrenchment  upon  their  States  for  the  general 
public  good.  Although  the  creation  of  forest  reserves 
and  forest  regulations  often  work  hardships  to  individ- 
uals and  to  communities,  there  is  no  branch  of  the 
Government  which  has  more  loyal  support  from  West- 
ern citizens  than  has  the  forest  service. 

That  there  have  been  earnest  complaints  concerning 
it  cannot  be  denied.  That  these  complaints  were  just 
is  evident,  for  the  two  great  administrative  arms  of 
the  Government,  the  Department  of  the  Interior  and 
the  Department  of  Agriculture,  have  taken  cognizance 
of  them,  and  have  provided  remedies  for  many  of  the 
complaints,  until  now  there  is  a  fair  degree  of  harmony 
between  the  people  directly  concerned  by  forest  reserve 
regulation  and  the  forest  service. 

The  complaints  which  have  attended  the  administra- 
tion of  the  forest  reserve  law  grew  out  of  the  mistaken 
notion  of  many  minor  officials,  and  of  some  whose 
places  were  quite  high  on  the  official  roster,  that  the 
reserves  and  what  they  contained  were  to  be  withdrawn 
from  public  use.  They  acted  in  their  dealings  with 
those  living  on  or  near  the  reserves  on  the  theory  that 
the  timber,  the  grass,  the  water,  and  even  the  air, 
was  reserved  for  the  use  of  the  Government  and  such 
of  its  official  servants  who  might  happen  to  have  their 
abiding  place,  temporarily  or  permanently,  on  the 
reserves. 

Happily,  this  idea  of  withdrawing  the  reserves  from 
all  use  has,  year  by  year,  lost  its  potency.  Investiga- 
tion, examination,  and  experience  demonstrated  that 


American  Forest  Congress  235 

the  reserves,  by  judicious  use,  could  best  be  preserved, 
and  the  welcome  words  of  President  Roosevelt,  in  his 
latest  message  to  Congress,  coincide  with  the  views 
which  have  been  held  by  Western  citizens  since  the 
creation  of  the  reserves,  and  they  illustrate  also  how 
closely  and  clearly  the  President  is  in  touch  with  West- 
ern needs  and  interests.     In  his  message  he  said : 

"It  is  the  cardinal  principle  of  the  forest  reserve 
policy  of  this  administration  that  the  reserves  are  for 
use.  Whatever  interferes  with  the  use  of  their  re- 
sources is  to  be  avoided  by  every  possible  means." 

The  most  serious  complaint  lodged  against  the 
administrative  regulations  of  the  forest  reserve  was 
in  reference  to  the  restriction  (in  the  earlier  days  of 
the  reservations,  amounting  to  almost  prohibition,)  of 
live  stock  grazing  on  the  reserves. 

While  the  restrictive  regulations  were  applied  to  all 
classes  of  live  stock,  they  were  particularly  and  almost 
viciously  severe  in  reference  to  sheep.  And,  while  it 
may  not  be  germane  to  my  subject,  it  might  be  noted 
that  the  poor  sheep  and  the  still  poorer  sheepman  have 
been  the  object  of  hostility  of  mankind  almost  since 
the  beginning  of  recorded  time.  The  first  attempt  to 
put  a  sheepman  out  of  business  was  when  Cain  slew 
his  brother  Abel,  who  "was  a  keeper  of  sheep."  Even 
the  great  John  Randolph,  it  is  said,  declared  "that  he 
would  walk  a  mile  out  of  his  way  any  time  to  kick 
a  sheep." 

And  this  innate  antipathy  to  sheep  and  sheepmen 
found  expression  in  the  earlier  regulations  which  the 
officers  of  the  forest  service  saw  fit  to  put  into  effect 
for  the  care  and  protection  of  reserves.  With  little 
or  no  practical  knowledge  of  the  subject,  they  held 
the  sheep  to  be  the  most  destructive  animal  in  existence. 
If  allowed  within  the  forest  reserves,  it  was  charged, 


236  Prockedings  o^  the 

this  ravenous  creature  would  not  only  eat  the  grasses 
found  there,  but  would  feed  on  the  shrubs  and  shoots, 
and  if  hunger  were  not  fully  appeased  by  this  diet, 
would  climb  the  trees  and  devour  the  tender  branches. 
If  allowed  to  cross  the  reserves,  it  was  claimed  that 
the  sharp  hoofs  of  the  sheep  would  cut  and  pack  the 
spongy  forest  soil  so  that  floods  and  serious  soil  erosion 
would  follow  and  forest  reproduction  would  be  en- 
dangered. Then,  too,  it  was  charged  that  the  herders 
would  leave  camp  fires  uncared  for  and  that  fire  and 
destruction  would  follow  in  the  wake  of  the  shepherds 
and  their  flocks. 

It  took  many  years  for  the  Western  stockmen  to 
convince  the  officials  in  Washington  that  sheep  do  not 
climb  trees  and  do  not  eat  coniferous  plant  or  tree 
growth,  which  forms  the  greater  part  of  timber  of 
Western  reserves.  It  took  much  efifort  to  convince 
them  that  grazing  off  the  heavy  growth  of  weeds  and 
wild  grass  in  the  many  parts  of  the  reserves  was  the 
best  protection  that  could  be  provided  against  the 
spread  of  fires.  It  has  taken  much  demonstration  to 
convince  them  that  it  was  more  to  the  interest  of  the 
stockman  than  any  other  class  to  protect  the  reserves 
against  fire  and  that  scarcely  an  authenticated  case  could 
be  found  where  a  forest  fire  originated  purposely  or 
carelessly  with  a  stockman. 

There  have  been  exceptions  to  this  class  of  officials. 
Two  notable  ones  occur  to  me  at  this  time,  the  present 
Commissioner  of  the  General  Land  Office,  and  the 
Forester  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture. 

Following  the  advent  of  these  officials  into  the  forest 
service  have  come  reforms  along  practical  lines  which 
have  the  sanction  and  approval  of  the  President  and 
the  warm  welcome  of  the  woolgrower  and  stockman. 

These  reforms  have  been  along  the  lines  of  more 


American  Forest  Congress  237 

stringent  regulations  for  policing  and  patrolling  the 
reserves,  more  liberal  regulations  for  permitting  set- 
tlers to  obtain  timber  for  their  own  use,  more  liberal 
regulations  concerning  live  stock  grazing  and  sheep- 
crossing  permits,  careful  investigation  of  the  character 
of  the  lands  before  including  them  in  forest  reserves 
and  in  the  investigation  of  lands  previously  included 
with  a  view  to  restoring  them  to  public  entry  and  set- 
tlement, if  found  more  valuable  for  grazing  or  agri- 
culture than  for  growth  of  timber. 

These  reforms  followed  the  earlier  onerous  regula- 
tions and  were  the  result  of  petitions  for  relief  sent  to 
the  Department  of  the  Interior  from  individual  settlers 
and  ranchmen,  stock  associations,  stockgrowers,  and 
irrigation  congresses,  and  of  personal  requests  for  a 
more  liberal  attitude  towards  Western  people  made 
by  members  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representa- 
tives from  Western  States. 

During  the  year  just  closed  sheep  were  allowed  to 
enter  and  graze  in  twenty-one  forest  reserves,  and 
cattle  and  horses  in  fifty-five,  while  in  1901  but  eight 
reserves  were  opened  to  sheep  and  thirty  to  cattle  and 
horses.  In  1904  there  were  issued  843  sheep  grazing 
permits  allowing  1,806,722  sheep  to  enter  and  graze 
on  the  reserves  as  against  391  permits  and  1,214,418 
sheep  in  1901. 

During  last  year  5,874  permits  for  cattle  and  horses 
were  issued  and  620,657  head  of  this  class  of  live  stock 
allowed  to  graze  as  against  1,926  permits  and  277,621 
head  of  stock  in  190 1.  During  the  year  ending  June 
30,  1904,  919,225  additional  sheep  were  allowed  to  trail 
across  the  reservations  in  going  to  grazing  grounds  or 
shipping  points  outside  of  the  reserves. 

To  more  correctly  make  known  the  necessities  of 
using  the  forest  reserves  for  grazing  purposes  a  refer- 


238  Proceedings  of  the 

ence  to  forestry  in  my  own  State — Wyoming — would 
not  be  out  of  place,  as  conditions  there  are  typical  of 
conditions  generally. 

When  Wyoming  was  admitted  to  statehood  in  1890 
its  area  was  62,641,920  acres.  Since  that  time  over 
ten  per  cent,  of  the  area  of  Wyoming  has  been  with- 
drawn from  public  settlement  and  created  into  forest 
reserves.  The  State  has  given  up  for  the  general 
public  good  an  area  larger  than  the  State  of  Massachu- 
setts, larger  than  New  Hampshire,  or  New  Jersey,  or 
Vermont,  or  Maryland.  There  has  been  no  serious 
complaint  on  account  of  the  great  area  thus  withdrawn 
and  reserved,  but  there  has  been  complaint  as  to  indis- 
criminate early  withdrawals  of  great  tracts  of  land  not 
forest,  but  grazing  lands.  There  has  been  complaint 
also  that  grazing  restrictions  in  the  reserves  were  too 
severe  and  that  a  much  smaller  number  of  live  stock 
was  permitted  to  enter  the  reserves  during  the  grazing 
seasons  than  the  parks  and  open  spaces  in  the  reserves 
would  carry  without  detriment.  There  has  been  com- 
plaint that  the  bureaucracy  of  the  forest  reserve  admin- 
istration caused  unnecessary  delay  in  the  granting  of 
timber  cutting  permits  and  that  many  matters  that 
should  be  settled  by  local  officers  had  to  be  referred 
to  Washington,  thus  causing  much  needless  delay  and 
inconvenience  to  the  ranchman  and  stockman. 

Some  of  their  complaints  have  been  given  due  con- 
sideration and  reforms  inaugurated  to  remedy  them. 
The  Commissioner  of  the  General  Land  Office,  in 
charge  of  the  administration  work  of  the  service,  and 
the  Forester  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture,  in 
charge  of  the  scientific  features  of  forestry,  took  cog- 
nizance of  the  complaint  that  lands  were  included  in 
reserves  regardless  of  their  character  and  conjointly 
conducted  investigations  and  examinations  to  remedy 
this  evil. 


Ami:rican  Fore:st  Congress  239 

An  investigation  was  made  of  the  Yellowstone  re- 
serve, the  largest  in  the  United  States,  which  required 
no  days  and  1,800  miles  of  travel  by  a  skilled  engineer 
and  forest  expert  and  their  assistants.  As  a  result 
of  their  investigation  they  recommended  the  elimina- 
tion from  the  reserve  of  559,350  acres  of  grazing  and 
agricultural  lands  and  the  addition  of  130,560  acres 
of  outside  timber  lands,  making  a  net  reduction  in  the 
reserve  of  428,800  acres.  This  recommendation  was 
approved  by  the  Commissioner  of  the  General  Land 
Office  and  the  Forester,  and  the  change  in  the  reserva- 
tion area  directed  by  presidential  proclamation.  A 
similar  investigation  was  made  of  the  Big  Horn  forest 
reserve,  Wyoming,  which  was  reduced  in  size  by 
eliminating  65,000  acres. 

I  am  of  the  opinion  that  still  more  liberality  could 
be  shown  in  granting  grazing  privileges  without  detri- 
ment to  the  objects  for  which  the  reserves  were  created 
and  with  great  benefit  to  those  living  within  the  vicinity 
of  the  reserves. 

Wyoming  has  many  resources.  It  is  one  of  the 
leading  coal  producing  States  of  the  Union.  It  has 
shipping  mines  of  copper  and  iron.  It  produces  oil 
of  superior  quality  and  in  great  quantity.  Its  building 
stone  is  used  in  many  outside  States,  and  it  has  as  many 
farms  in  proportion  to  population  as  any  State  in  the 
Union.  But  the  chief  industry  of  Wyoming  is  the 
raising  of  live  stock,  and  under  the  conditions  which 
have  prevailed  for  nearly  half  a  century,  grazing  on 
the  public  domain  constitutes  the  principal  method  of 
live  stock  raising.  To  arbitrarily  withdraw  from 
general  public  use  an  area  of  over  7,000,000  acres, 
which  is  perhaps  twenty  per  cent,  of  the  public  grazing 
lands  of  the  State,  would  seriously  endanger  this  great 
live  stock  industry  if  needlessly  severe  regulations  were 


240  Proceedings  of  the 

kept  in  force  for  the  control  of  the  reserves.  It  is, 
therefore,  a  necessity  that  good  judgment  be  exercised 
in  granting  grazing  privileges  so  that  the  fullest 
measure  of  capacity  of  the  reserves  may  be  accorded 
the  live  stock  interests,  at  the  same  time  guarding 
against  forest  injury.  In  my  opinion  the  reserves  of 
Wyoming,  the  forests  of  which  are  all  of  coniferous 
growth,  would  bear  without  injury  a  decided  increase 
of  live  stock  during  the  grazing  season. 

Complaints  have  been  made  justly  from  time  to 
time  of  the  refusal  to  allow  stock  to  be  trailed  across 
the  reserves  for  shipment  or  to  reach  grazing  grounds 
on  the  public  domain.  These  complaints  have,  in  a 
large  measure,  been  remedied,  but  there  is  still  room 
for  improvement. 

The  conditions  in  Wyoming  apply  generally  to  the 
entire  Western  country,  and  the  needs  of  the  sheepmen 
and  other  live  stock  owners  in  relation  to  the  forest 
reserves  are  general  and  may  be  summarized  as  fol- 
lows: 

First:  Thorough  and  complete  topographic  exami- 
nations should  be  made  of  all  forest  reserves  with  a 
view  to  restoring  to  the  public  domain  all  grazing  and 
agricultural  lands,  and  all  lands  covered  with  timber 
of  non-commercial  value  and  valueless  as  a  protection 
to  watersheds  or  the  headwaters  of  streams,  or  for  the 
protection  of  water  supplies  for  cities  and  towns. 

Second :  Adequate  public  trails  should  be  established 
across  forest  reserves  so  that  sheep  and  other  live 
stock  might  be  moved  across  the  reserves  to  reach  graz- 
ing grounds,  markets  or  shipping  points,  with  the  least 
possible  inconvenience  to  owners. 

Third :  The  grazing  capacity  of  each  reserve  should 
be  estimated  by  local  officials,  who  should  take  into 
consideration  the  actual  conditions  of  grass  growth 


American  Forest  Congress  241 

each  year,  and  the  reserves  should  be  opened  during 
the  grazing  seasons  to  the  full  capacity  of  the  reserves, 
consistent  with  their  preservation  and  the  prevention  of 
over  grazing. 

Fourth :  The  administration  of  the  reserves  should 
be  placed,  as  far  as  possible,  in  the  hands  of  local 
officials,  and  the  rangers,  supervisors,  and  superinten- 
dents should  be,  when  practicable  to  obtain  them,  local 
men  familiar  with  local  conditions  and  requirements. 

Fifth :  Grazing  privileges  on  the  reserves  should  be 
confined  to  stock  owned  by  taxpayers  and  ranch  owners 
in  the  State  in  which  the  reserve,  upon  which  the 
grazing  is  sought,  is  located. 

I  am  satisfied  that  the  inclination  of  the  present 
officers  of  the  Government  in  charge  of  the  forest  ser- 
vice is  favorable  to  the  granting  of  these  several  neces- 
sities of  the  grazing  interests,  and  I  believe  now  that 
a  law  has  been  enacted  by  Congress  for  consoli- 
dating the  control  of  the  reserves  under  the  De- 
partment of  Agriculture,  the  needs  and  necessities 
of  stockmen  in  relation  to  forest  reserves  will  receive 
earnest  and  impartial  consideration. 


SHEEP  GRAZING  IN  THE  FOREST  RE- 
SERVES FROM  A  LAYMAN'S 
STANDPOINT 

BY 
L  H.  PAMMEL 

Professor  of  Botany,  Iowa  College  of  Agriculture  and  Mechanic  Arts 

I  HAVE  been  somewhat  interested  in  forest  matters 
for  a  good  many  years,  not  only  from  the  stand- 
point of  the  subject  of  this  article,  but  also  from  the 
Standpoint  of  a  botanist.  I  have  followed  somewhat 
closely  the  range  problems  for  fifteen  years,  and  my 
work  has  brought  me  in  contact  with  it  from  Texas  to 
Montana.  I  have  been  deeply  interested  in  this  prob- 
lem, for  the  Iowa  farmer  needs  to  recuperate  his  stock 
for  feeding  purposes  from  the  great  arid  regions  of 
the  West.  No  stock  equals  the  western  range  animals 
for  feeding  purposes.  It  is,  therefore,  to  the  interests 
of  the  Mississippi  Valley  that  good  conditions  shall  be 
maintained  on  the  Western  ranges.  I  shall  not  stop 
to  review  the  various  interests  concerned  in  connection 
with  the  forest  reserves  of  the  West. 

Four  interests  must  be  considered  (i)  grazing,  (2) 
timber  supplies,  (3)  irrigation,  (4)  mining.  Each 
must  be  brought  together  in  one  harmonious  whole. 
The  breaking  of  any  one  of  the  links  in  the  chain  cannot 
but  affect  the  others.  During  the  early  development 
of  the  West  one  interest  only  was  the  dominating  one, 
that  of  mining.  It  was  soon  found  that  some  lines 
of  agricultural  pursuits  were  needed  to  give  stability 
to  the  country.  Then  came  a  conflict  between  the 
different  lines  of  agriculture — the  irrigator,  the  sheep 


American  Forest  Congress  243 

herder,  the  cattleman,  all  seemed  to  be  in  irreparable 
conflict.  Happily,  however,  through  the  efforts  of 
Mr.  Gifford  Pinchot  some  of  these  matters  are  being 
settled  in  an  amicable  way. 

It  has  been  my  good  fortune  to  have  spent  some 
time  in  the  Rocky  Mountain  region  of  Colorado,  Wy- 
oming, Utah,  and  Montana,  partly  to  investigate  some 
of  these  problems  and  partly  as  a  layman  to  enjoy  the 
benefits  of  the  mountain  air  and  to  study  the  flora. 

What  were  some  of  the  conditions  in  the  great  pas- 
ture fields  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  and  adjacent  re- 
gions from  1897  to  1901  ? 

The  cattlemen  were  dissatisfied  because  their  ranges 
were  more  or  less  injured,  the  irrigator  complained 
of  lack  of  water.  The  sheepmen  alone  entered  no 
general  complaints  except  where  the  competition  was 
too  strong  among  themselves.  The  open  ranges  which 
had  offered  abundant  opportunities  at  first  became 
poorer  and  poorer  and  the  sheep  had  to  seek  greener 
fields  in  the  mountains  during  the  summer.  What 
was  more  natural  than  that  they  should  make  use  of 
the  forest  reserves,  where  in  small  parks  and  meadows 
grew  an  abundance  of  nutritious  grasses.  When  the 
permits  were  first  given  it  was  supposed  that  grazing 
would  be  confined  to  the  parks  and  meadows.  But  the 
spirit  of  this  regulation  was  probably  never  adhered  to, 
since  the  competition  among  sheepmen  was  so  strong 
that  they  had  to  seek  all  kinds  of  feed  for  fear  of  their 
flocks  reaching  the  point  of  starvation  in  some  cases. 
It  was  my  privilege  to  examine  three  of  the  forest 
reserves,  the  Uintah,  Big  Horn,  and  Bitter  Root. 

The  Bitter  Root  forest  reserve,  in  Montana,  is  a 
ragged  range  containing  a  large  amount  of  timber 
and  several  important  streams,  the  water  of  which  is 
used  to  irrigate  the  fertile  fields  in  Montana  and  Idaho. 


244  Proceedings  of  the 

The  timber  in  this  region  is  somewhat  different  from 
that  occurring  in  the  Uintah  Mountains.  There  are 
large  bodies  of  murravana  and  piniis  Yc.vilis.  Spruces, 
balsam  and  the  Douglas  fir  are  found  at  different  alti- 
tudes. This  region  is  very  different  from  the  Uintah 
Mountains  topographically.  Sheep  grazing  has  never 
been  permitted  here,  and  there  are  few  parks.  It  is 
essentially  a  forest  region.  Let  us  first,  therefore,  con- 
sider the  importance  of  the  mountains  in  respect  to  the 
water  supply  for  irrigation. 

No  better  natural  reservoirs  can  be  found  anywhere 
in  the  Rocky  Mountains  than  the  many  lakes  located 
at  the  sources  of  the  larger  streams  rising  in  the  Uin- 
tah Mountains.  In  addition  there  are  many  basins 
or  ancient  glacial  lakes  that  contain  vegetation  well 
adapted  to  hold  the  moisture  and  thus  release  it  in 
the  form  of  springs.  The  flow  of  water  from  these 
springs  is  regulated  by  the  amount  of  water  held  in 
the  soil  or  retained  by  the  humble  plants  growing  in 
forest,  meadow,  and  park.  Hundreds  of  these  mead- 
ows occur  in  the  reserve,  their  continuity  being  broken 
only  by  stretches  of  forest.  A  study  of  these  mead- 
ows shows  a  large  number  of  plants  important  in  the 
conservation  of  moisture.  Through  decay  these  plants 
form  a  rich  humus  which,  owing  to  the  peculiar  physi- 
cal conditions,  undergo  decomposition  slowly.  Hence 
this  soil  is  highly  retentive  of  moisture. 

The  bogs  always  carry  an  abundance  of  moisture 
and  the  meadow,  under  natural  conditions,  generally 
contains  water,  but  under  overgrazing  or  the  effects 
of  forest  fires  the  meadows  are  damaged  to  such  an 
extent  that  the  water  during  the  summer  months  is 
continually  diminishing. 

The  present  diminished  water  supply  is  due  in  part 
to  injudicious  grazing.     Is  the  water  supply  less  than 


American  Forest  Congress  245 

formerly?  So  gaugings  of  the  streams  have  shown, 
as  does  the  testimony  of  old  settlers.  Two  factors 
have  been  important  in  bringing  about  these  changed 
conditions.  First,  an  unusually  large  part  of  the  re- 
serve has  been  burned  over.  Prior  to  1879  small 
patches  had  been  burned  over  by  the  Indians  and 
trappers.  Large  areas  were  burned  by  the  Indians  in 
1879.  Since  then  there  have  been  many  destructive 
fires,  burning  many  thousand  acres.  During  the  early 
settlement  of  the  country  some  of  these  fires  were 
started  with  the  idea  of  making  better  grazing,  but 
experience  has  taught  owners  of  sheep  and  cattle  that 
the  burning  of  forests  does  not  improve  the  range. 
Fires  in  this  reserve,  as  elsewhere,  are  started  care- 
lessly. Sheep  herders  have  been  given  the  credit  for 
starting  these  fires,  but  I  believe  they  should  not  be 
held  responsible.  More  fires  are  started  by  hunting  and 
fishing  parties  than  by  cattle  and  sheepmen. 

Bitter  controversy  has  prevailed  for  years  among 
cattle  and  sheepmen  and  those  who  use  the  water  for 
irrigation  purposes.  The  latter  nearly  always  agree 
with  the  cattlemen  in  regard  to  the  destructive  work 
of  the  sheep  in  the  reserve.  In  some  cases  the  criti- 
cisms are  justifiable.  A  few  illustrations  may  be  cited. 
During  the  winter  of  1899- 1900  there  was  an  unusually 
light  fall  of  snow  in  the  mountains  with  a  light  rain- 
fall in  the  summer  of  1900.  Forage  was  scarce,  so 
short  that  the  meadows  at  high  altitudes  were  stripped 
of  their  plants,  and  the  forests  were  denuded  of 
their  undergrowth  as  much  as  the  meadows.  Lower 
down  in  the  reserves  the  valleys  of  all  the  streams 
looked  like  sheep  trails  with  dust  rising  in  clouds  even 
in  the  woods.  The  sheep  had  to  resort  to  willows, 
potentilla  friiticosa,  befiila  glandnlosa,  que  re  us,  prunus 
demissa   and    aspen    for   their    forage.      These    were 

I 


246  Proceedings  o^  the 

stripped  of  their  foliage  as  high  as  the  sheep  could 
reach.  The  similar  species  were  entirely  denuded. 
Sheep  are  said  not  to  graze  on  conifers,  but  in  numer- 
ous cases  the  Engelmann  spruce,  Lodgepole  pine, 
balsam,  and  Douglas  fir  were  stripped  of  their  foilage 
as  high  up  as  sheep  could  reach.  In  that  year  the 
grazing  privilege  was  granted  to  180,000  sheep,  a 
number  far  in  excess  of  what  the  conditions  warranted. 
The  number  actually  grazed  was  probably  still  larger. 
In  1901  and  1902  the  conditions  were  very  much  im- 
proved. 

So  many  sheep  in  the  reserve  cannot  help  being 
injurious  to  the  forest.  The  indiscriminate  grazing  in 
the  burnt  timber  destroys  the  herbaceous  plants  and 
keeps  the  small  shrubs  in  an  enfeebled  condition  and 
thus  prevents  the  renewal  of  the  forest. 

In  no  case  did  I  observe  young  pines  where  fires 
have  occurred  during  the  last  eight  or  ten  years.  But 
in  timber  nearing  maturity,  and  even  mature  timber, 
the  injury  was  great.  The  herbaceous  plants  are  in- 
jured to  such  an  extent  that  reseeding  is  impossible. 
Seven  years  ago  herbaceous  plants  were  in  abundance 
along  all  of  the  brooks.  Now,  however,  they  are  con- 
fined to  the  headwaters  of  the  streams  and  plentiful 
only  just  below  timber  line.  Many  valuable  grasses 
were  once  abundant,  but  now  have  become  rare  be- 
cause the  plants  do  not  have  a  chance  to  reseed  the 
ground  since  the  roots  are  destroyed  by  tramping  and 
close  grazing. 

In  order  that  sheep  owners  may  have  a  longer  lease 
of  the  forest  reserve  the  suggestion  has  been  made, 
by  those  who  are  interested  in  the  sheep  grazing  ques- 
tion, that  every  sheep  owner  who  receives  the  privilege 
from  the  Government  should  be  compelled  to  reseed 
the  ground  with  grass  seed  and  let  the  grazing  go  on 


American  Forest  Congress  247 

as  before.  This  is  not  necessary.  I  believe  under 
existing  conditions  it  is  practically  impossible  for  grass 
or  any  other  plant  to  get  a  good  start.  But  given  an 
opportunity  the  pasture  and  meadows  will  recover. 

After  spending  three  seasons  in  this  reserve,  I  am 
convinced  more  than  ever  that  the  number  of  sheep 
in  it  should  be  regulated  by  wise  and  judicious  rules 
laid  down  by  the  Department  of  Agriculture,  subject 
to  change  as  the  Department  may  from  time  to  time 
deem  expedient,  or  entirely  prohibited  until  the  forest 
is  in  a  better  condition.  The  solution  of  the  problem 
is  a  difficult  one  under  the  present  conditions.  Public 
opinion  in  Utah  and  Wyoming  is  decidedly  in  favor  of 
unrestricted  grazing  privileges  regardless  of  conse- 
quences. So  long  as  the  Government  pursues  the  pres- 
ent policy  in  regard  to  the  semi-arid  lands  so  long  will 
the  question  remain  unsettled.  In  my  opinion  the 
leasing  of  the  semi-arid  lands  for  a  term  of  years 
will  help  partly  to  solve  the  question  for  the  forest 
reserves.  The  free  use  of  our  public  domain  for 
every  one  destroys  the  range  to  such  an  extent  that  the 
sheepmen  are  forced  to  use  the  forest  areas.  Free 
ranges  should  be  abolished. 

In  the  Bitter  Root  forest  reserve,  although  larger 
quantities  of  water  are  used  than  formerly,  the  water 
supply  from  the  mountains  is  scarcely  diminished  so 
far  as  I  have  been  able  to  learn.  The  most  important 
factor  in  the  Bitter  Root  forest  reserve  to  be  observed 
is  that  the  young  trees  are  coming  up  everywhere  in 
great  quantities.  Grass  and  various  herbaceous  plants 
are  abundant  and  thick. 

To  make  the  forest  reserve  more  effective,  power 
should  be  given  to  the  forest  supervisor  to  open  roads 
and  trails.  In  the  Uintah  forest  reserve  there  can  be 
no  doubt  that  the  most  important  factor  in  diminishing 
the  water  supply  is  injudicious  grazing. 


248  PrOCKEDINGS    01^    THK 

Much  forage  of  good  value  occurs  in  all  of  these 
reserves  and  from  an  impartial  standpoint  I  am  in- 
clined to  the  opinion  this  should  be  used  but  regulated 
in  such  a  manner  that  forest  trees  will  not  suffer.  To 
do  this  will  require  good  officials,  who  will  harmonize 
the  various  conflicting  interests.  I  would  respectfully 
urge  the  sentiments  expressed  by  Mr.  Pinchot  and 
Dr.  Roth  in  their  several  papers. 


GRAZING  ON  PUBLIC  LANDS  OF  CANADA 

{Impromptu  Address) 

BY 
R.  H.  CAMPBELL 

Secretary,  Canadian  Forestry  Association 

J  DO  not  respond  to  the  call  for  Western  men,  but 
am  very  glad  that  the  discussion  has  been  brought 
back  again  to  Western  conditions,  because  I  am  con- 
nected with  the  Department  of  the  Interior  of  Canada, 
which  has  the  management  of  the  Western  lands  and 
deals  with  the  problems  which  have  been  specially 
brought  before  the  Congress  this  afternoon,  and  I 
thought  a  statement  of  the  method  that  has  been 
adopted  by  us  in  dealing  with  the  Western  grazing 
interest  might  perhaps  be  of  some  interest  to  the  Con- 
gress. The  problem  has  not  become  an  acute  one  with 
us  in  connection  with  the  forest  reservations.  The 
grazing  has  not  injured  them  seriously,  and  we  have 
not  developed  the  management  of  the  forest  reserves 
to  such  an  extent  that  we  have  given  much  attention 
to  that  subject.  Another  reason  why  the  grazing  in 
the  forest  reserves  has  not  been  a  very  pressing  subject 
is  the  fact  that  there  are  no  sheep  grazed  in  close 
proximity  to  the  reserves  or  within  them,  and  as  the 
chief  objection  has  been  made  to  the  grazing  of  sheep 
in  the  reserves  on  your  side  of  the  boundary,  I  think 
it  is  from  that  the  problem  has  largely  arisen.  In  the 
lands  outside  of  the  reserves  we  have  been  following 
for  a  number  of  years  a  leasing  system.  We  have  not 
laid  down  the  principle,  which  apparently  has  been 
laid  down  in  your  administration,  that  the  range  is 
free  to  any  man  who  wishes  to  make  use  of  it ;  in  fact, 
we  lay  down  the  principle,  in  the  first  place,  that  no 
person  has  the  right  to  make  use  of  the  public  land 


250  Proceedings  of  the 

for  grazing  purposes  without  special  permission  from 
the  Minister  of  the  Interior,  and  then  we  go  on  and 
define  the  rules  by  which  he  may  be  allowed  to  make 
use  of  that  land  for  grazing.     The  regulation  that  has 
been  followed  for  a  number  of  years  is  that  leases  for 
a  period  of  twenty-one  years  may  be  granted  for  an 
area  not  to  exceed  100,000  acres.     The  rental  asked 
for  this  lease  is  two  cents  per  acre.     A  number  of 
leases  have  been  taken  up  under  this  system  which  have 
brought  in  a  fair  amount  of  revenue  to  the  Govern- 
ment.    Recently  the  large  influx  into  and  settlement  of 
our  West  has  raised  the  question  of  the  management 
of  the  grazing  lands  to  an  important  position  and  made 
it  a  more  acute  one.     When  grazing  leases  were  first 
adopted  a  feeling  arose  between  those  holding  leases 
and  some  of  the  settlers  who  wished  to  go  in  on  these 
leaseholds.     The  Government  then  decided,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  agitation  that  so  arose,  to  cancel  these 
leaseholds,  allowing  the  holders  to  purchase  one-tenth 
of  the  area  and  thereafter  granted  leases  only  subject 
to  a  homestead  entry.     That  policy  was  followed  for 
some  time,  and  then  later  a  number  of  leases  were 
granted  without  the  provision  that  homestead  entry 
should  be  granted  within  them.     Considerable  objec- 
tion was  made,  and  it  was  finally  decided  to  suspend 
further  action  until  the  matter  could  be  given  full  con- 
sideration.    It  has  been  under  consideration  for  some 
time  past,  and  although  I  am  not  in  a  position  yet  to 
say  fully  what  will  be  finally  decided,  I  think  that  the 
decision  will  be  that  we  will  stick  to  the  leasing  sys- 
tem.    We  have  found  it  to  work  out  with  a  fair  degree 
of  satisfaction,  and  I  think  that  the  fact  of  giving  the 
leaseholder  a  proprietary  right  to  a  certain  extent  will 
make  him  careful  to  see  that  the  land  of  which  he  has 
control  is  not  overgrazed  and  is  kept  in  proper  condi- 
tion for  all  the  time  that  it  is  held  under  lease  by  him. 


PARTY 


RAILROADS    IN    RELATION    TO    THE 
FOREST 


WHAT  INFORMATION  IS    MOST   URG- 
ENTLY NEEDED  BY  RAILROADS  RE- 
GARDING TIMBER  RESOURCES 

BY 

GENERAL  CHARLES  F.  MANDERSON 

General  Solicitor,  Chicago,  Burlington  and  Quincy  Railroad  Company 

A  SHORT  time  before  the  year  i860  there  crossed 
the  Missouri  River,  on  the  Hne  of  latitude  of 
the  most  progressive  development  and  most  intelligent 
progress,  to  make  a  home  in  the  then  Territory  of 
Nebraska,  a  young  man,  who  joined  to  physical 
strength  and  virile  force  a  keen  appreciation  of  the 
needs  of  the  future  and  a  determination  of  purpose 
only  equalled  by  the  intelligence  which  guided  that 
purpose,  and  the  abounding  faith  that  led  to  the  desired 
result.  Settling  upon  broad  acres  of  virgin  soil,  he 
found  himself  in  a  treeless  region,  on  the  eastern  edge 
of  what  the  geographers  of  the  day  were  pleased  to 
call  the  Great  American  Desert.  He  was  one  of  the 
leaders  of  that  hardy  band  of  men  by  whose  aggressive 
power  that  desert  land,  the  range  of  the  wild  buffalo 
and  the  hunting  ground  of  the  wilder  Indian,  was  to  be 
developed  into  an  agricultural  garden,  whose  products 
in  a  single  year,  in  less  than  fifty  years  of  development, 
were  to  very  nearly  equal  in  value  the  annual  output 
of  all  the  gold  and  silver  producing  mines  of  the  world. 
For  had  this  pioneer  lived  to  1904  he  would  have  seen 
from  the  yield  of  the  fields  of  vast  extent  of  corn  and 
small  grain,  from  the  domestic  animals  ready  for  the 
world's  market,  a  product  valued  at  $500,000,000,  or 
over  three  times  the  value  of  all  the  gold  and  silver 


254  Proceedings  of  thk 

produced  that  year  in  the  United  States. 

The  youth  who  thus  settled,  less  than  half  a  century 
ago,  near  the  banks  of  the  turbid  and  oft  times  turbu- 
lent Missouri,  looked  about  him  with  sorrowful  and,  I 
fear,  regretful  gaze.  On  all  that  broad  expanse  of  un- 
dulation no  tree  to  gladden  the  sight,  no  shade  to  offer 
its  restful  protection  to  contemplative  man  or  reminat- 
ing  beast.  He  called  to  mind  the  groves  of  his  native 
state;  he  thought  of  the  spreading  oaks,  the  leafy 
maples,  and  the  stately  pines  of  Michigan,  and  probably 
from  the  longing  homesickness  there  came  the  inspira- 
tion that  ripened  into  the  motto  of  his  life:  ''Plant 
trees."  From  that  inspiring  thought  came  a  transfor- 
mation delightful  to  contemplate.  Standing  now  on 
the  eminence  where  he  built  his  home,  on  every  side 
are  to  be  seen  the  sylvan  evidences  of  his  industry  and 
foresight.  Lofty  trees,  many  of  them  true  monarchs 
of  the  forest,  wave  their  graceful  tops  as  the  wind 
makes  music  in  the  branches,  singing  ever  a  grateful 
requiem  to  the  builder  of  Arbor  Lodge.  The  example 
he  set  has  not  been  lost.  Groves  innumerable  now  dot 
the  landscape,  once  so  bare.  Countless  millions  of 
trees  have  been  planted  as  a  result  of  his  persistent 
inculcation  of  the  benefits  of  tree-planting,  and  in  every 
State  and  Territory  of  the  United  States,  except  Dela- 
ware and  the  Indian  Territory,  by  legislative  enactment 
or  executive  proclamation  one  day  in  each  year  is  set 
apart  as  a  legal  holiday  in  which  the  people  are 
encouraged  to  plant  trees.  It  is  a  monument  to  his 
memory  more  enduring  than  marble,  more  lasting  than 
brass. 

Need  I  give  the  name  of  the  founder  of  Arbor  Day 
to  you — lovers  of  trees  that  you  are?  The  names  of 
J.  Sterling  Morton  and  James  Wilson  are  indissolubly 
linked  together  in  the  annals  of  forest  development. 
May  their  tribes  increase ! 


American  Forest  Congress  255 

The  President  is  quoted  as  saying  that  the  forest 
question  is  the  most  vital  internal  problem  in  the 
United  States.  It  is  truly  so,  and  we  are  here  assem- 
bled to  give  increased  vitality  to  the  movement  to 
substitute  saving  for  losing,  preservation  for  assassi- 
nation, creation  for  destruction,  birth  for  death.  We 
are  here  to  say  to  the  servants  of  the  people  that  as 
compared  with  the  reforming  or  the  deforming  of  the 
tariff  and  its  schedules,  the  extinction  or  the  encour- 
agement of  trade  combinations,  the  regulation  or  the 
demoralization  of  interstate  transportation — all  ques- 
tions of  importance,  we  admit — the  problem  of  how  we 
shall  conserve  the  timber  production  of  the  country  is 
the  paramount  issue.  By  its  conservation  we  are  pre- 
served ;  by  its  destruction  we  perish.  The  suggestions 
as  to  the  best  methods  of  preserving  what  we  have  and 
adding  to  our  store  are  for  you  who  are  experts,  and 
not  for  me,  a  mere  tyro,  to  give. 

My  duty  at  the  moment  is  to  show  briefly  the  needs 
of  the  railroads  as  to  timber  resources.  I  might  spend 
time  in  showing  the  relation  that  railroad  transporta- 
tion bears  to  every  industry,  and  that  under  the 
methods  of  modern  civilization  not  one  could  be  suc- 
cessfully maintained  without  it;  but  this  would  insult 
your  intelligence.  The  needs  of  railroads  can,  how- 
ever, very  profitably  be  called  to  your  attention.  There 
are  in  the  United  States  206,885.99  miles  of  main 
tracks,  79,376.03  miles  of  second  tracks  and  sidings, 
being  a  total  mileage  of  286,262.02.  The  vast  number 
of  trees  needed  to  be  felled  to  maintain  this  tremendous 
mileage  is  so  enormous  as  to  stagger  belief  and  exhaust 
a  reasonable  amount  of  figures.  The  timber  goes 
mainly  into  ties,  bridges,  station  houses,  road  crossings, 
rolling  stock,  platforms,  furniture,  and  also  into  many 
minor  uses.     Wherever  used  there  comes  to  it    depre- 


256  Proceedings  oi^  the 

ciation  and  decay,  demanding  renewal  and  replacement. 
Let  us  consider  the  matter  of  ties  alone,  for  that  will 
serve  as  a  fair  parallel  to  all  other  uses  for  railroad 
purposes.  The  average  number  of  ties  to  the  mile  of 
tracks  is  3,000 ;  so  that  858,786,000  ties  have  gone  into 
the  construction  of  the  tracks.  The  probable  average 
life  of  an  oak  tie  is  ten  years.  Pine  ties  naturally  last 
from  four  to  six  years,  and  when  burnetized,  creosoted 
or  otherwise  treated  their  average  life  is  probably 
extended  to  ten  years.  It  will,  therefore,  be  seen  that 
10  per  cent  of  the  ties  now  in  track  must  be  renewed 
annually,  making  a  yearly  demand  for  replacement  of 
nearly  90,000,000  and  in  a  decade  900,000,000.  The 
average  price  of  oak  ties  is  55  cents,  and  of  pine  ties 
38  cents  each.  Treating  for  prolongation  of  life  adds 
10  cents  to  the  cost  of  each  tie.  The  average  cost  of 
all  ties  now  going  into  the  trackage  of  the  railroads 
of  the  United  States  is  50  cents  apiece,  making  an 
annual  expenditure  of  $45,000,000,  and  $450,000,000 
every  ten  years;  and  this  calculation  of  cost  does  not 
include  the  labor  of  placing  the  ties  in  the  track  or 
the  expense  of  local  transportation.  Nor  does  it  take 
into  account  the  gradual  but  inevitable  increase  in  price 
as  the  supply  lessens,  the  demand  incident  to  the  build- 
ing of  the  new  lines  of  road  absolutely  demanded  by 
the  ever-advancing  commerce  of  the  country,  both 
intra  and  interstate,  and  the  necessary  supply  of  street 
car  lines,  both  horse  and  electric;  elevated  railways, 
subways,  and  mine  tracks.  The  demands  of  these 
corporations  are  enormous,  and  constantly  increasing. 
Add  to  these  requirements  the  many  others  caused  by 
the  uses  heretofore  briefly  referred  to  and  some  con- 
ception can  be  had  of  how  capacious  is  the  maw  of 
the  great  transportation  lines  of  the  republic,  upon 
whose  successful  and  steady  maintenance  all  industries 


American  F'orkst  Congress  25;? 

depend.  It  may  be  better  that  I  should  state  that  they 
are  interdependent,  for  without  these  industries  rail- 
roads could  not  thrive,  and  without  the  railroads  the 
industries  could  not  survive,  and  to  maintain  both 
industries  and  railroads  the  timber  and  lumber  product 
of  the  forests  is  the  prime  factor  and  absolute  neces- 
sity. 

This  much  for  the  needs.  What  of  the  supply  for 
the  needs,  the  satisfaction  of  these  wants?  It  is  not 
only  the  preservation  by  judicious  forestry  and  intel- 
ligent lumbering  of  the  store  we  have,  but  the  planting 
and  husbanding,  wherever  trees  can  be  induced  to 
grow,  of  new  forests.  To  this  end  there  must  be  the 
arousing  of  public  sentiment,  so  that  in  every  state 
and  in  the  nation  there  shall  be  taught  the  lesson  that 
will  lead  to  legislation  encouraging  timber  growth. 
The  labor  must  not  only  be  one  of  love,  but  one  of 
duty.  We  should  rejoice  in  the  fact  that  in  this  move- 
ment, fraught  with  so  much  of  good  to  the  republic, 
sentimentalism  joins  hands  with  commercialism. 

"There  is  a  pleasure  in  the  pathless  woods,"  but 
there  is  profit  as  well.  It  is  difficult,  I  know,  to  deter- 
mine to  sow  where  we  cannot  reap.  The  man  who 
plants  trees  works  not  for  himself  but  for  posterity; 
but  we  should  remember  that  with  almost  criminal 
recklessness  and  censurable  disregard  of  the  rights  of 
the  future  we  have  destroyed  that  which  a  decent 
regard  for  the  race  should  have  prompted  us  to  pre- 
serve for  those  who  shall  come  after  us,  and  certainly 
from  that  standpoint  we  owe  much  to  posterity. 

The  legislation  of  Congress  from  181 7,  when  the 
first  timber  preservative  act  was  passed  to  save  live  oak 
and  red  cedar  for  naval  purposes,  to  this  time  has  not 
been  marked  by  great  wisdom.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that 
there  may  speedily  come  a  repeal  of  the  Timber  and 


258  Proce:edings  of  the 

Stone  Act,  as  recommended  by  the  American  Forestry 
Association,  and  I  submit  that  in  view  of  the  evident 
necessities  of  the  railroads  of  the  west,  building  pioneer 
lines,  that  form  the  vanguard  of  civilization,  that  under 
the  judicious  cutting  of  timber  on  government  lands, 
by  carrying  out  the  natural  rule  of  the  survival  of  the 
fittest,  the  requirement  that  the  resulting  product  can- 
not be  exported  from  the  district  or  state  wherein  it  is 
cut  may  well  be  repealed  and  be  used  wherever  upon 
such  railroads  the  necessity  for  its  use  is  apparent. 
The  popular  demand  is  that  the  rates  of  freight,  so 
greatly  reduced  during  the  past  few  years,  should 
receive  still  further  reduction.  This  can  be  obtained 
only  by  economy  in  construction  and  maintenance,  and 
every  measure  that  tends  to  that  result  should  receive 
encouragement. 

We  of  the  West  are  watching  with  concern  the  inter- 
esting experiment  of  that  admirable  Chief  Forester 
Pinchot  in  the  planting  of  pine  cones  and  young  pines 
in  our  sandhill  country.  If  this  otherwise  useless  land 
can  be  made  to  grow  merchantable  pine  it  will  have 
justified  its  hitherto  useless  existence. 

The  experiments  of  the  Government,  of  the  railroads, 
and  of  private  parties  in  prolonging  the  life  of  timber 
are  of  great  importance.  The  saving  of  the  forests,  if 
the  life  of  a  tie  can  be  prolonged,  will  be  very  great, 
for  as  yet  no  substitute  has  been  devised  for  wood  ties 
that  is  either  economical  or  desirable.  They  maintain 
the  alignment  of  the  railroad,  so  essential  to  safety, 
better  than  any  metal  substitute  and  give  an  elasticity 
to  the  roadbed  most  important  for  the  preservation  and 
maintenance  of  the  rolling  stock.  With  metal  ties,  or 
a  stone  base,  the  rails  would  be  speedily  injured,  and 
the  heavy  Mogul  engines  used  to-day,  drawing  the 
heavy  trains  of  large  cars  needed  for  the  traffic,  would 


American  Forest  Congress  259 

pound  themselves  quickly  into  decrepitude  and  useless- 
ness.  The  change  in  the  character  of  rolling  stock  is 
worthy  of  consideration.  Engines  have  increased  in 
weight  from  twenty-five  to  one  hundred  and  ten  tons ; 
freight  cars  of  twenty-eight  feet  length,  with  twenty 
thousand  pounds  carrying  capacity,  have  increased  to 
forty  feet  of  length  with  one  hundred  thousand  pounds 
capacity. 

But  why  prolong  the  wondrous  tale  of  development 
and  progress  ?  We  have  reached  the  point  from  which 
we  must  yet  advance  or  retrograde.  We  cannot  stand 
still.  We  are  considering  the  main  element  of  that 
hoped-for  progress.  Let  us  take  lessons  from  the 
nations  across  the  great  water.  From  Germany, 
Austria,  Hungary,  and  Switzerland  let  us  learn  how  to 
establish  schools  of  forestry,  how  to  eliminate  waste 
and  mismanagement,  and  to  subrogate  private  rights 
to  public  necessity.  From  Bohemia  let  us  learn  how 
to  furnish  fuel  and  building  material  for  a  dense  popu- 
lation and  yet  retain  the  area  of  the  primeval  forests 
and  add  thereto.  Let  us  learn  wherever  there  is  a 
teacher,  for  there  is  no  lesson  more  essential  to  our 
welfare.  Let  us  adopt  the  motto  of  the  pioneer 
Morton  and  under  state  and  federal  guidance  and 
direction  "plant  trees." 


WORK  OF  THE  PENNSYLVANIA  RAIL- 
ROAD IN  PLANTING  TIMBER 
FOR  CROSS  TIES 

BY 

JOSEPH  T.  RICHARDS 

i^Cliief  Engineer,  Maintenance  of  Way,  Pennsylvania  Railroad  System. 

I  T  has  been  largely  through  the  instrumentality  of  the 
American  Forestry  Association  that  the  railroad 
companies  of  the  United  States  have  been  brought  to 
realize  the  gravity  of  the  situation  with  reference  to 
a  future  timber  supply,  from  which  is  to  be  furnished 
the  large  quantity  consumed  by  the  railroads  in  the 
production  of  cross  ties.  The  rapid  spoliation  of  our 
forests — the  sole  source  of  our  supply — and  the  immi- 
nence of  its  entire  depletion,  are  only  too  strongly 
presented  to  us  by  those  familiar  with  the  subject.  It 
would  take  more  time  than  I  have  at  my  disposal  to 
obtain  statistics  to  cover  the  entire  field  of  timber 
consumption  in  the  United  States,  or  to  make  any 
reliable  computation  of  the  amount  of  timber  still 
standing,  and  available  for  future  supply;  but  a  few 
figures  illustrative  of  the  general  character  may  be  of 
interest  as  an  introduction  to  what  more  particularly 
concerns  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad   System. 

During  the  past  year  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad 
Company  has  had  the  subject  considered  and  a  report 
made  by  a  committee  of  our  transportation  association, 
and  I  will  draw  from  this  report  some  data  for  my 
remarks  to-day.  The  number  of  cross  ties  in  use  on 
the  railroads  of  the  United  States  is  estimated  to  be 
about  620,000,000;  the  number  used  annually  for 
repairs,  and  for  extensions  of  track,  is  estimated  to  be 


American  Forest  Congress  261 

from  90,000,000  to  110,000,000,  requiring,  we  may 
say,  the  entire  product  of  200,000  acres  of  woodland 
annually. 

Each  year  the  timber  from  which  these  are  manu- 
factured is  farther  from  the  base  of  transportation, 
and  many  of  the  former  sources  of  supply  have  already 
been  entirely  exhausted.  Our  Pennsylvania  railroads 
now  look  chiefly  to  inland  Virginia,  West  Virginia, 
and  Kentucky  for  their  white  oak  ties ;  and  the  longleaf 
yellow  pine  of  the  southern  states  will  soon  disappear. 
Probably  another  decade  may  nearly  close  these 
sources  of  supply. 

The  annual  consumption  of  ties  on  the  Pennsylvania 
Railroad  System  east  of  Pittsburg  and  Erie,  for  repairs 
only,  is  about  3,000,000,  this  being  about  the  average 
quantity  used  every  year  for  repairs  in  the  past  ten 
years.  To  this  should  be  added,  say,  one-half  million 
used  annually  in  new  work.  It  is  evident,  therefore, 
that  at  the  present  rate  of  consumption  the  available 
supply  of  the  present  timbers  used,  especially  white 
oak  and  yellow  pine,  will  be  exhausted  to  a  serious 
degree  before  many  years,  and  the  time  is  now  ripe 
for  the  railroads  to  consider  the  question  of  what 
course  they  are  to  pursue  in  the  future. 

Under  these  conditions  there  are  obviously  two 
courses :  First,  the  reduction  of  the  amount  consumed, 
which  can  be  done  by  the  substitution  of  other  material 
for  wood,  and  by  the  use  of  preservative  methods  for 
prolonging  the  life  of  the  ties,  and  which  by  increasing 
its  durability  will  diminish  the  annual  requirements 
for  renewals ;  and,  second,  by  the  adoption  of  forestry 
methods  having  for  their  purpose  the  proper  care  and 
management  of  the  forests  still  remaining,  and  the 
cultivation  of  new  tree  plantations. 

It  is  to  the  latter  to  which  I  will  chiefly  confine  my 


262  PrOC^£:dINGS    0^    THE 

remarks  in  connection  with  this  all-important  subject. 
The  question  of  forest  preservation  and  perpetuation 
is  beginning  to  receive  attention  in  this  country 
through  the  several  State  Bureaus  of  Forestry  which 
have  been  established,  and  attention  is  given  to  forest 
preservation  by  these,  as  well  as  by  the  National 
Government.  The  National  Government  has  estab- 
lished a  Bureau  of  Forestry,  which  is  doing  valuable 
work  in  the  dissemination  of  useful  information 
and  by  creating  a  popular  sentiment  in  favor  of 
the  subject,  and  its  cooperation  with  railroad  compa- 
nies and  lumber  industries  in  the  introduction  of  proper 
methods  for  the  preservation  and  perpetuation  of  the 
timber  supply  of  the  country. 

The  necessity  or  advisability  of  a  railroad  taking  an 
active  part  in  forestry  operations,  looking  especially 
towards  its  future  supply  of  cross  ties  for  its  own  use, 
is  comparatively  a  new  idea.  As  long  as  twenty-four 
or  twenty-five  years  ago,  on  the  Pennsylvania  lines 
west  of  Pittsburg,  attention  was  already  given  to  the 
subject,  and  a  number  of  catalpa  trees  were  planted 
along  the  right-of-way  of  one  of  its  lines;  but  the 
results  obtained  were  unsatisfactory.  More  recently, 
the  cultivation  of  the  yellow  locust  as  a  tie  timber  has 
been  brought  to  our  attention,  and  the  cultivation  of 
this  tree  to  a  limited  extent  for  the  purposes  named 
has  been  undertaken. 

Within  the  past  two  years  we  have  begun  the  plant- 
ing of  yellow  locust  trees  on  an  extensive  scale  on 
property  owned  by  the  company.  The  trees  thus 
planted  are  seedlings  two  or  three  years  old,  and  cost, 
including  labor  of  planting,  about  eight  cents  each. 
Generally  speaking,  these  are  planted  ten  feet  apart, 
thus  averaging  about  400  to  the  acre ;  although  in  the 
fall  of  1904  we  planted  54,871  trees  six  feet  apart  and 
88,127  trees  eight  feet  apart. 


American  Forest  Congre:ss  263 

The  total  quantity  planted  to  date  is  as  follows : 

Fall  of  1902  at  Totals. 

Newton  Hamilton, 13,610      13,610 

Fall  of  1903  at 

Conewago,    43^364     43^364 

Spring  of  1904  at 

Conewago,   25,096 

Pomeroy,   20,280 

West  of  Atglen, 16,537 

Atglen,  8,108 

70,021 

Fall  of  1904  at 

Juniata  Bridge, 20,730 

Newport,    29,505 

Vintage,  50.300 

Atglen  &   Susquehanna   Branch, 

P.  R.  R.,   53.000 

153,535 


Total, 280,530 

All  of  the  above  places  are  in  the  State  of  Pennsyl- 
vania. During  the  coming  year  we  expect  to  plant 
about  800,000  trees  additional,  likely  200,000  in  the 
spring  and  600,000  in  the  fall.  The  land  on  which  we 
planted  these  trees,  except  a  tract  of  fourteen  acres  at 
Newton  Hamilton,  which  was  purchased  for  this  par- 
ticular purpose,  are  lands  which  the  company  has 
owned  for  some  time  and  which  were  acquired  in 
connection  with  old  or  new  lines. 

There  is  probably  no  other  timber  which  combines 
so  well  the  qualities  of  durability  and  hardness  as  does 
the  yellow  locust.  Evidences  of  its  longevity  in  use 
as  tie  timber  are  frequent  on  our  road.  The  resistance 
of  locust  timber  to  cutting  under  the  rail  is  said  to 
exceed  that  of  white  oak,  and  it  has  been  demonstrated 


264  Proceedings  o^  the 

upon  our  main  lines  that  it  is  not  so  much  the  decay  of 
the  timber  as  it  is  the  cutting  in  by  the  rail  which  wears 
out  or  decreases  the  life  of  the  tie.  The  average  life 
of  a  white  oak  tie  is  about  ten  years ;  we  expect  to  get 
additional  life  out  of  a  locust.  The  main  attention 
which  this  class  of  timber  seems  to  require  during 
growth  is  that  of  pruning  the  lower  branches  of  the 
young  trees,  ploughing  and  harrowing  the  ground  in 
which  they  are  planted,  and  keeping  the  weeds  down 
as  far  as  possible. 

While  it  is  not  likely  that  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad 
Company  will  at  any  time  undertake  to  plant  a  suffi- 
cient number  of  trees  from  which  to  secure  its  entire 
supply  of  cross  ties,  we  feel  that  the  experiment  made 
by  it  of  raising  its  own  tie  timber  will  have  a  tendency 
to  stimulate  outside  parties,  who  are  small  owners  of 
property,  to  cultivate  this  class  of  timber,  and  in  this 
way  assist  the  railroad  company  in  the  vicinity  in 
which  they  are  located  by  furnishing  cross  ties  at  some 
future  time. 

In  order  to  supply  our  entire  needs  for  the  year, 
namely,  3,000,000  for  repairs  and  half  a  million  for 
new  work,  and  adding  thereto  10  per  cent  for  the 
immediate  future  increase,  making  the  total  annual 
requirements  3,850,000  ties,  we  figure  that,  three  ties 
to  a  tree,  would  require  about  1,300,000  trees  each  year 
to  produce  the  probable  number  of  ties  needed.  To 
produce  the  necessary  number  of  trees  of  the  proper 
size  for  tie-cutting  each  year,  in  order  to  harvest  the 
3,850,000  ties  (figuring  that  it  will  require  thirty  years 
for  a  yellow  locust  tree  to  mature),  would  require  a 
continuous  growth  of  39,000,000  trees,  1,300,000  to  be 
planted  each  year,  which,  if  planted  ten  feet  apart,  or 
about  400  trees  to  the  acre,  would  entail  the  continuous 
use  of  97,500  acres,  or  152  square  miles  of  ground,  for 
the  purpose. 


IS  IT  PRACTICABLE   FOR   RAILROADS 

TO    HOLD    FOREST    LANDS    FOR 

FUTURE  SUPPLIES  OF  TIMBER? 

BY 
L.  E.  JOHNSON 

President,  The  Norfolk  and  Western  Railway 

I  CAN  but  express  my  appreciation  at  being  requested 
to  present  a  subject  for  the  consideration  of  this 
Forest  Congress,  and  being  asked  to  answer  the  ques- 
tion: "Is  It  Practicable  for  Railroads  to  Hold  Forest 
Lands  for  Future  Supplies  of  Timber?" 

We  find  that  it  is  one  that  can  be  discussed  from 
the  standpoint  of  railroads,  and  while  the  question 
from  this  standpoint  is  an  important  one,  is  it  not  a 
question,  by  reason  of  its  relation  to  the  public  at  large, 
in  every  industry  and  occupation,  and  in  the  individual 
and  domestic  needs  of  every  citizen,  from  the  stand- 
point of  the  public  at  large  ? 

The  preservation  of  forests  is  not  only  necessary  for 
supplying  railroads  with  cross  ties,  with  timber  for  its 
trestles  and  cars,  but  is  necessary  to  maintain  the  supply 
of  wood  for  the  various  manufacturing,  building  and 
domestic  purposes  of  the  public.  It  is  equally,  if  not 
more,  necessary  to  maintain  and  protect  the  water 
supply  in  streams,  the  demands  on  which  are  increasing 
by  reason  of  an  increasing  population,  and  by  reason 
of  the  rapidly  multiplying  requirements  for  power  in 
its  many  forms.  And  it  is  equally  necessary  to  pre- 
serve our  forests,  to  prevent  floods,  and  to  prevent 
droughts. 

All  this  is  well  put  in  the  definition  of  what  forestry 


266  Proceedings  of  the 

is  by  one  of  the  gentlemen  connected  with  the  Bureau 
of  Forestry,  in  his  article  in  a  late  Encyclopedia.  I 
refer  to  the  article  by  Mr.  Gifford  Pinchot,  "Forestry 
in  the  United  States,"  Encyclopedia  American,  Vol. 
VII,  where  he  defines  the  subject  as  covering  this 
broad  ground: 

"Forestry  is  the  art  of  using  the  forests  continuously 
to  meet  the  needs  of  men.  In  the  United  States  for- 
estry has  to  do  principally  with  the  supply  of  wood  for 
various  purposes,  with  the  maintenance  of  water-flow 
in  streams,  with  the  prevention  of  floods  and  with  the 
supply  of  foliage  for  grazing  animals  within  the  forests. 
Nowhere  else  are  forest  problems  of  more  vital  impor- 
tance to  the  welfare  of  the  people  than  here,  and  in  no 
other  country  of  civilization  has  so  little  progress  been 
made  in  their  solution.  This  condition  follows  natu- 
rally from  the  vast  area  of  the  United  States,  its 
comparatively  sparse  population  per  square  mile,  and 
from  the  nature,  location,  and  extent  of  the  forests 
themselves." 

Referring  to  the  same  authority,  "Some  Uses  of 
Wood:"  "The  yearly  product  of  wood  in  the  United 
States  is  about  35,000,000,000  feet.  In  1900  the 
lumber  industry  employed  two  hundred  and  eighty- 
three  thousand  two  hundred  and  sixty  (283,260)  wage 
earners,  to  whom  it  paid  one  hundred  and  four  million 
six  hundred  and  forty  thousand  five  hundred  and 
ninety-one  dollars  ($104,640,591).  The  perpetuation 
of  this  industry  is  of  vital  concern  to  all  the  people. 
Its  ramifications  are  as  wide  as  the  industrial  life  of 
the  nation,  and  its  perpetuation  is  a  most  pressing 
concern  of  the  forester.  The  use  of  wood  for  the 
maintenance  of  railroad  tracks,  for  example,  rises  to 
about  120,000,000  ties  a  year,  together  with  the  vast 
amounts  of  bridge  timber,  piling,  etc.     Since  the  use 


American  Forest  Congress  ^^^j 

of  metal  ties  is  believed  to  be  impracticable  by  Ameri- 
can railroad  engineers,  the  maintenance  of  the  supply 
of  wood  and  ties  is  of  vital  importance  to  the  railroads, 
and  through  them  to  the  nation  at  large.  In  a  similar 
way,  the  permanence  and  success  of  the  mining 
industry  is  dependent  upon  cheap  and  accessible 
supplies  of  timber.  In  most  portions  of  the  West  such 
supplies  can  be  expected  only  from  the  national  forest 
reserves.  In  the  creation  of  the  reserves,  therefore, 
the  special  needs  of  the  mining  and  other  industries 
have  been  kept  carefully,  and  it  is  also  believed  suc- 
cessfully, in  mind." 

Without  regard,  therefore,  for  the  necessity  of 
preserving  our  forests  for  the  other  purposes  equally 
important  to  the  country,  as  the  means  of  supply  of 
wood  for  industrial  and  domestic  purposes,  it  would 
appear  that  railroads,  although  they  are  consumers  of 
an  enormous  amount  of  wood,  their  uses  of  wood  form 
but  a  fraction — relatively  a  small  fraction — of  the 
yearly  consumption  of  wood.  I  will,  therefore,  under- 
take to  discuss  some  of  the  details  from  my  personal 
knowledge  of  a  railroad  extending  from  tidewater 
on  the  east  to  points  in  Ohio  to  the  northwest,  and 
through  Virginia  to  the  southwest,  embracing  lines 
into  Maryland  and  North  Carolina,  in  addition  to 
other  lateral  lines  within  reasonable  limits  of  timber 
for  its  entire  distance. 

Originally  the  country  passed  through  by  the  railroad 
to  which  I  refer,  was  well  timbered.  The  first  exten- 
sive depletion  of  timber  land  was  on  the  first  hundred 
miles  adjacent  to  the  seaboard,  where  the  original 
timber  was  cypress  and  Virginia  or  loblolly  pine.  Up 
to  the  year  1888  this  road  used  a  great  many  cypress 
ties,  but  such  timber  is  no  longer  procurable.  The 
second  growth  of  Virginia  loblolly  pine  in  this  same 


268  PROCei:DINGS    0]?    TH^ 

district  is  very  knotty,  and,  further,  it  is  not  suitable 
for  cross  ties  until  it  be  treated  to  improve  its  lasting 
qualities.  All  the  balance  of  the  road  is  in  territory 
where  both  white  oak  and  chestnut  oak  is  indigenous, 
and  up  to  quite  recently  all  the  cross  ties  that  have  been 
needed  have  been  obtained  within  moderate  hauling 
distance  from  the  railroad  line. 

The  class  of  ties  that  have  been  obtained  to  date 
have  been  of  a  high  grade.  After  a  time  of  careful 
watching  extending  over  a  period  of  twenty  years,  it 
has  been  found  that  the  life  of  these  white  oak  and 
chestnut  oak  ties  has  averaged  about  nine  years. 

This  railroad  is,  therefore,  a  road  presenting  prob- 
lems that  are  common  to  many  other  roads,  and  the 
above  question  can  be,  in  part,  answered  by  using  it 
as  a  typical  case. 

At  the  present  time  the  main  line  is  1,543  miles; 
branches,  226;  second  track,  150;  sidings,  652;  total 
mileage,  2,571.  The  average  requirements  in  oak  ties 
per  year  for  renewals  are  three-hundred  and  ten  (310) 
per  mile,  aggregating  in  round  numbers  eight  hundred 
thousand  (800,000)  per  year.  At  prevailing  prices 
eight  hundred  thousand  (800,000)  ties  cost  per  annum 
about  three  hundred  and  fifteen  thousand  dollars 
($315,000),  which  is  shown  to  be  about  fifteen  per  cent. 
(15)  over  the  cost  of  a  like  number  ten  years  ago. 
This  total  figure  is  far  below  what  some  railroads  less 
fortunately  situated  must  pay  for  a  like  number. 

Both  chestnut  and  oak  timber  is  of  such  slow  growth 
that  we  cannot  for  a  moment  consider  the  attempt  to 
cultivate  it  for  tie  timber.  While  oak  will  naturally 
grow  for  the  whole  length  of  this  and  other  railroads, 
largely  by  self-sowing,  if  the  soil  is  left  idle,  we  cannot 
count  on  that  method  to  secure  timber  for  many  years 
to  come  in  view  of  the  great  expansion  in  lumber 
industries  adjacent  to  railroads. 


Ame:rican  F'orkst  Congress  269 

According  to  our  information,  the  only  tree  that 
has  a  comparatively  rapid  growth  and  which  will, 
according  to  the  best  evidence  obtainable,  furnish  a 
first-class  cross  tie  of  long  life,  is  the  catalpa.  It  is 
claimed  that  this  tree  will,  in  twenty  years,  make  ties 
that  will  last  fifteen  years  in  track.  However,  the 
timber  is  soft  as  compared  with  oak,  and  will,  of 
necessity,  require  tie-plates. 

Assuming  the  life  of  a  catalpa  cross  tie  as  being 
fifteen  years,  the  requirements  per  mile  per  year  for 
renewals  would  be  about  200,  making  the  requirements 
for  the  present  mileage  of  the  road  under  consideration, 
allowing  for  emergencies,  about  six  hundred  thousand 
(600,000)  catalpa  ties  per  annum. 

Let  us  now  consider  the  question  of  cultivating 
catalpa  trees  for  cross  ties.  We  find  that  one  acre  of 
standing  catalpa  trees  will  produce,  when  twenty  years 
of  age,  eight  hundred  and  fifty  (850)  cross  ties.  There- 
fore, in  order  to  secure  six  hundred  thousand  (600,000) 
cross  ties  per  annum,  about  seven  hundred  (700)  acres 
of  land  bearing  catalpa  trees  twenty  years  old  will  be 
required  each  year;  hence,  there  should  be  planted 
every  year,  for  the  requirements  of  the  railroad,  having 
a  mileage  of  two-thousand  five  hundred  and  seventy- 
one  mile  (2,571),  seven  hundred  (700)  acres  of  trees, 
and  this  planting  must  be  continued  for  a  period  of 
twenty  years  before  any  cross  ties  can  be  secured.  As 
we  are  to  plant  seven  hundred  (700)  acres  each  year 
during  the  twenty  years,  we  must  plant  a  total  of 
fourteen  thousand  (14,000)  acres,  or,  allowing  for 
some  waste  land,  about  fifteen  thousand  (15,000)  acres 
must  be  secured.  Such  a  large  body  of  land  as  this 
cannot  be  obtained  unless  it  be  in  districts  where  there 
are  at  present  comparatively  large  bodies  of  waste  or 
cheap  land.     There  is  no  point  on  this  railroad  where 


270  Proceedings  of  the 

such  a  tract  of  land  can  possibly  be  secured  unless  it 
be  near  tidewater. 

We,  therefore,  estimate  the  cost  of  establishing  such 
a  timber  reservation  on  the  line  of  this  road  would  be 
as  follows: 

15,000  acres  of  land  at  $10 $150,000 

Interest  on  this  for  19  years  up  to 

cutting  time  at  5  per  cent 142,500 

Total  cost  for  land $292,500 

Annual  expenditure  for  nineteen  years  before  any 
growth  is  obtained  suitable  for  ties : 

Taxes  $1,500 

Clearing,  draining,   &c.,  700  acres 

at  $15 10,500 

470  trees  delivered  at  $10  per  M.  . ,  4,700 

Planting  700  acres  at  $5  per  acre. .  3,500 

Superintendence,  &c., 1,800 

Total  annual  cost $22,000 


This  annual  charge  of  $22,000  for 

nineteen  years  aggregates  ....  $418,000 

Interest  on  this  amount  for  an  aver- 
age term  of  9^^  years  at  5  per 
cent 198,550 

Cost  of  land  as  above 150,000 

Interest  on  cost  of  land,  19  years, 

as  above,  at  5  per  cent 142,500 

Total  investment  up  to  20th  year  $909,050 


American  Forkst  Congress  271 

Annual  expenditure  after  the  twentieth  year  and 
each  year  thereafter: 

Interest  on  investment,  $909,050,  at 

5  per  cent $45452 

Taxes  1,500 

Reclearing,  &c.,  700  acres  at  $5  ....  3)5oo 

470,000  trees  delivered,  at  $10  per  M.  4,700 

Planting  700  trees  at  $5  per  acre .  . .  3,500 

Superintendence,  &c 1,800 

Annual  cost $60,452 

Cutting  and  delivering  600,000 
catalpa  ties  f.  o.  b.  cars  at 
20c $120,000.00 

Annual  cost  of  ties  after  20  years.  180,452.50 

It  should  be  noted  that  twenty  years  hence,  at  the 
present  rate  of  increase  in  the  cost  of  oak  ties,  the 
cross  ties  necessary  for  the  railroad  in  question  will 
cost  an  aggregate  of  four  hundred  thousand  dollars 
($400,000)  in  the  twentieth  year.  The  saving  through 
this  transaction  would,  therefore,  be,  per  annum,  after 
the  twentieth  year,  four  hundred  thousand  dollars 
($400,000)  less  one  hundred  and  eighty  thousand  four 
hundred  and  fifty-two  dollars  and  fifty  cents  ($180,- 
452.50),  equal  to  two  hundred  and  nineteen  thousand 
five  hundred  and  forty-seven  dollars  and  fifty  cents 
($219,547.50). 

The  above  great  difference  in  figures  would  indicate 
an  enormous  saving  possible  by  railroad  companies 
undertaking  to  hold  large  areas  of  land,  either  directly 
or  indirectly,  to  cultivate  tie  timber  alone.  And  while 
it  was  possible  a  number  of  years  ago  for  railroad 
companies  to  hold  large  tracts  of  land,  laws  do  not 


272  Proce:e:dings  o^  th^ 

give  them  the  right  to  condemn  lands  for  cultivating 
timber.  Therefore,  unless  railroad  companies  have  a 
right  to  condemn  land  for  such  purposes,  such  large 
tracts  as  are  required  cannot  be  obtained  at  prices  such 
as  warrant  the  above  estimate.  It  is  evident  that  some 
modification  of  the  existing  laws  would  be  necessary 
in  order  to  render  it  practicable  for  railroads  to  hold 
large  tracts  of  land  for  future  supplies  of  timber. 

Further,  the  investment  of  one  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand  dollars  ($150,00)  in  land,  and  an  added 
investment  each  year  for  a  period  of  nineteen  years, 
until  a  total  of  nine  hundred  thousand  dollars 
($900,000)  is  reached,  will  require  a  special  arrange- 
ment on  the  part  of  railroad  companies  in  order  to 
look  forward  to  the  holding  of  various  lands  for  such 
a  long  period  of  time.  It  might  be  claimed  that  land 
could  be  bought  only  seven  hundred  (700)  acres  at 
a  time.  If  this  plan  should  be  followed,  the  prices 
would  be  advanced  by  the  very  improvements  under- 
taken by  the  railroad  company.  The  only  practicable 
plan  of  procedure  would  be  to  purchase  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  undertaking  all  the  land  required  by  a 
railroad  company. 

Right  here  let  me  repeat  that  the  above  calculations 
are  based  upon  estimates  made  for  a  certain  railroad ; 
however,  they  may  form  a  basis  for  like  calculations 
on  any  railroad  in  any  section  of  our  country,  taking 
into  consideration  the  environments  and  conditions. 
In  the  above  figures  no  account  has  been  taken  of  the 
danger  and  loss  from  fires,  but  the  item  of  superin- 
tendence is  included ;  and  further,  an  item  of  profit  in 
the  way  of  securing  posts  and  other  timber  has  not 
been  credited  simply  with  a  view  of  making  an  estimate 
that  would  be  safe  to  cover  ordinary  emergencies. 

I  have  in  these  estimates  only  considered  one  thing, 


Ame:rican  Forest  Congress  273 

namely :  ties,  for  the  reason  that  the  use  of  timber  for 
other  purposes  in  railroad  work  is  rapidly  being  substi- 
tuted by  steel,  brick,  stone,  and  concrete.  The  above 
presentation  apparently  shows  a  saving  to  the  railroad 
company  to  be  great  and  advantageous.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  time  required  to  secure  the  growth,  changes 
in  railroad  methods,  increase  in  length  of  railroad 
through  construction,  or  decrease  through  sales,  and 
the  possible  future  improvement  in  the  form  of  con- 
struction of  standard  track,  throws  at  once  grave 
doubts  upon  the  advisability  of  any  such  plan.  These 
doubts  lead  me  to  the  conclusion  that  it  is  not  practi- 
cable for  railroads  to  hold  forest  lands  for  a  future 
supply  of  timber,  but  that  it  is  a  question  of  such 
magnitude  that  it  can  best  be  handled  by  the  investment 
of  private  capital,  or  under  the  Bureau  of  Forestry  of 
the  United  States  Government,  in  connection  with 
appropriate  legislation  by  the  State  Governments. 

While  railroads  can  and  should  cooperate  heartily 
in  every  way  to  preserve  our  forests  from  waste  and 
destruction,  I  am  forced  to  the  conclusion  that  no 
practical  results  can  be  obtained  without  legislation 
putting  the  entire  subject  with  Government  control. 
The  subject  is  one  of  such  magnitude,  affecting 
directly  and  indirectly  the  needs  of  every  citizen  and 
every  community  of  our  country,  that  any  scheme  that 
may  be  adopted  must  be  comprehensive  enough  to  con- 
serve all  interests  and  accomplish  definite  results. 

Legislation  is  required  to  enable  forests  lands  to  be 
acquired  or  reserved  at  the  headwaters  of  streams  and 
in  other  suitable  locations. 

Laws  must  be  enacted  to  require  the  citizens  to  plant 
and  maintain  timber  under  appropriate  circumstances. 

Laws  must  be  enacted  and  enforced  to  prevent  fires 
and  the  unnecessary  destruction  of  trees. 


274  Procdejdings  of  th^ 

Legislation,  too,  should  be  provided  to  restrict  the 
use  of  timber  as  much  as  possible  for  the  use  of  our 
own  citizens. 

The  waste  of  timber  should  be  prevented  to  the 
extent  practicable  by  proper  laws. 

And  all  such  laws  should,  in  order  to  be  effective, 
be  administered  by  officials  invested  with  the  authority 
of  law. 

It  would  further  appear  that  the  large  commercial 
demands  consequent  upon  the  great  growth  of  our 
country,  together  with  the  immense  quantities  of  the 
very  best  grades  of  timber  which  are  exported,  consti- 
tute a  greater  menace  to  our  forests  than  the  consump- 
tion by  railway  companies. 

In  this  connection,  I  would  like  to  mention  a  large 
quantity  of  chestnut  oak  which  is  felled  every  spring 
to  procure  bark  for  tanning  purposes,  much  of  which 
is  allowed  to  lie  in  the  woods  and  rot,  although  rail- 
road companies,  and  I  presume  others,  would  be  glad 
to  get  the  material,  sawed  into  merchantable  lumber, 
or  have  it  made  into  ties.  This  constitutes  a  great 
and  wanton  waste.  We  think  that  we  are  fully  able 
to  verify  this  statement  from  the  frequency  with  which 
we  have  to  decline  ties  made  from  timber  which  has 
been  felled  in  years  other  than  the  current  year. 

In  considering  this  timber  question  in  any  of  its 
aspects,  we  recognize  that  the  study  of  it,  together 
with  a  great  many  other  questions  of  like  import, 
marks  a  new  era  in  the  affairs  of  this  country. 

Heretofore  the  American  people  have  been  wasteful, 
and  extravagant  to  an  alarming  degree,  of  every 
product  and  everything  which  have  been  generally  used 
for  the  necessities  and  comfort  of  the  people.  Nature 
has  been  prodigal  in  distributing  natural  resources 
through  our  land,  and  for  years  we  have  been  simply 


American  Forest  Congress  275 

drawing  upon  these  accumulated  resources  without 
stint  and  without  regard  for  the  future.  Our  popula- 
tion now  is  becoming  so  congested  and  the  demands 
upon  the  resources  of  the  country  are  so  great  that  it 
is  necessary  for  intelligent  and  conservative  people  to 
study  the  forestry  question  and  other  like  propositions, 
to  the  end  that  the  natural  wealth  of  the  country  shall 
not  be  wasted  to  such  an  extent  that  the  conditions  of 
living  by  our  people  shall  become  more  difficult.  I 
know  of  no  single  question  that  is  entitled  to  more 
consideration,  by  persons  influencing  large  corpora- 
tions, than  the  timber  and  forestry  question. 

Such  meetings  as  the  one  now  being  held  in  Wash- 
ington will  necessarily  result  in  great  good  in  that 
they  will  bring  to  the  attention  of  large  numbers  of 
people,  and  especially  people  of  character  and  influence, 
conditions  which  otherwise  might  be  overlooked  or  be 
passed  unnoticed. 


RESULTS     IN      THE      PRESERVATIVE 
TREATMENT  OF  RAILROAD  TIM- 
BERS TO  PROLONG  DURABILITY 

BY 

Dr.  HERMANN  von  SCHRENK 

Bureau  of  Plant  Industry 

I  N  a  discussion  of  the  railroads  in  their  relation  to 
the  forest  there  is  no  topic  which  is  at  this  day  of 
such  importance  as  timber  preservation.  We  have 
heard  that  there  is  probably  no  one  interest  in  this 
country  to-day  which  can  compare  with  the  railroad  as 
a  timber  consumer,  and  certainly  there  is  none  which 
has  a  more  direct  and  vital  interest  in  seeing  that  a 
definite  and  constant  supply  of  all  kinds  of  timber  is 
assured  in  the  future.  It  is  my  privilege  to  point  out 
in  a  few  words  what  bearing  the  chemical  preservation 
of  wood,  with  its  attendant  features,  has  upon  the 
general  problem  of  future  supply,  and  to  what  extent 
the  results  obtained  therefrom  may  lead  to  a  more 
economical  utilization  of  forest  supplies  in  general. 

In  dealing  with  this  subject  I  propose  to  consider 
briefly  the  following  points: 

1.  Why  railroads  in  their  capacity  as  consumers  of 
timber  are  interested  in  preservation. 

2.  Why  railroads  are  interested  in  preservation  from 
a  traffic  standpoint. 

3.  Why  railroads  are  interested  in  timber  preserva- 
tion from  the  standpoint  of  economy. 

4.  What  preservation  means. 

5.  What  results  have  been  obtained. 

6.  Some  general  conclusions. 


Ami:rican  Forkst  Congress  ^'j'j 

Up  to  within  recent  times  most  of  the  tie  and  con- 
struction timbers  used  by  the  railroads  were  timbers 
Hke  the  white  oak  and  longleaf  yellow  pine.  These 
were  used  because  they  combined  great  durability  with 
strength  and  good  wearing  qualities.  They  were 
abundant  along  the  lines  of  the  roads  and  were  obtain- 
able in  large  quantities  and  at  a  comparatively  low  cost. 
A  purchasing  agent  had  no  difficulty,  not  more  than 
ten  years  ago,  in  getting  any  number  of  first-class  white 
oak  ties  in  the  middle  or  central  states  at  from  35  to  60 
cents.  While  the  prices  for  such  timbers  are  not  yet 
excessive  owing  to  local  supplies,  it  is,  nevertheless, 
becoming  increasingly  difficult  to  obtain  large  regular 
supplies  of  such  timbers,  and  with  an  ever-increasing 
demand,  the  question  has  been  asked  for  several  years, 
and  with  increasing  anxiety,  where  the  tie  supply  is  to 
come  from  in  the  future.  It  may  not  be  without  inter- 
est to  state  here  that,  according  to  a  recent  estimate 
made,  about  118,000,000  ties  were  used  for  renewal 
purposes  during  1904. 

As  a  result  of  the  uncertainty  in  getting  a  sufficient 
number  of  ties  which  could  be  used  in  the  natural 
condition,  many  roads  turned  toward  the  so-called 
inferior  woods,  like  red  and  water  oaks,  beech,  gum, 
the  softer  pines,  hemlock,  etc.  None  of  these  woods 
can  be  used  without  preservation,  because  they  decay 
with  great  rapidity  when  in  contact  with  the  ground. 
It  is  not  yet  fully  realized  that  when  thoroughly  treated 
that  a  red  oak  or  beech  tie  becomes  the  equal,  if  not  the 
superior,  of  an  untreated  white  oak  tie,  as  far  as  resist- 
ance to  decay  is  concerned.  The  use  of  such  woods  as 
red  oak,  beech,  loblolly  pine,  etc.,  if  generally  adopted, 
would  bring  into  the  market  a  large  body  of  timber 
which  would  insure  a  constant  supply  for  many  years 
to  come.     It  is  a   fortunate  circumstance  that  these 


278  PrOCDDDINGS    0^    THi: 

so-called  inferior  woods,  because  of  their  greater 
porosity,  can  be  treated  with  chemicals  so  as  to  preserve 
them  very  effectively. 

The  use  of  these  woods,  which  is  made  possible  by 
preservation,  will  not  only  open  up  a  supply  now 
standing  in  the  forests,  but  it  will  also  make  possible 
the  investment  in  lands  producing  such  timbers.  Many 
of  these  grow  with  great  rapidity,  at  least  sufficiently 
so  as  to  make  the  possibilities  of  second  and  third  crops 
a  realizable  possibility.  Some  day  we  may  duplicate 
the  conditions  now  prevailing  in  eastern  France,  where 
the  preserved  beech  ties  last  until  another  crop  of  beech 
ties  furnishes  a  new  supply. 

Preservation  will  therefore  be  an  almost  indispens- 
able factor  in  any  consideration  of  future  supply,  and 
when  one  considers  the  good  results  obtained,  its 
importance  will  be  fully  realized. 

The  use  of  shortlived  woods  for  tie  and  construction 
purposes  when  chemically  preserved  will  have  a  whole- 
some effect  on  the  utilization  of  the  higher  grade 
longlived  timbers.  The  writer  has  repeatedly  pointed 
out  that  the  full  value  of  a  piece  of  white  oak  is  not 
realized  in  these  times  when  it  is  used  in  the  form  of  a 
tie.  White  oak  is  coming  to  be  more  and  more  valuable 
in  the  form  of  lumber  and  for  construction  purposes, 
for  car  building,  in  the  cooperage  trade,  etc.  A  rail- 
road using  white  oak  for  ties  at  a  valuation  less  than 
one-half  of  what  it  would  be  as  car  sills  or  cooperage 
stock,  is  cutting  off  industries  which  it  should  foster 
along  its  lines.  This  is  especially  true  when  the  road 
could  be  using  less  valuable  woods  for  what  must  be 
considered  as  inferior  service,  such  as  ties  or  piling. 
These' woods  when  treated  are  just  as  serviceable  and 
oftentimes  better  than  the  more  valuable  wood.  This 
is  a  point  worthy  of  serious  study  from  the  traffic 
standpoint. 


American  Fore:st  Congre:ss  279 

Another  point  which  may  be  alluded  to  here  is  the 
influence  which  the  use  of  less  valuable  woods,  always 
after  preservation,  has  on  local  business  and  feeling. 
The  less  valuable  woods  are  generally  distributed  along 
most  of  the  railway  lines,  and  should  they  come  to  be 
generally  used,  every  owner  of  woodlands  would  find 
a  local  market  for  one  class  of  his  farm  product  which 
he  now  has  but  little  use  for.  This  is  not  only  true  for 
ties,  but  for  other  classes  of  material.  Take  fence 
posts  as  an  example.  Many  roads  now  use  cedar, 
shipped  long  distances  from  off  their  lines.  If  birch, 
sycamore,  maple,  red  oak,  and  saplings  of  other  trees, 
which  grow  on  every  farm,  were  generally  used,  it 
would  stimulate  local  interest,  encourage  home  indus- 
tries, as  it  were,  and  at  the  same  time  serve  to  give  a 
large  and  comparatively  cheap  supply.  That  such 
saplings  can  be  easily  and  cheaply  treated  (at  a  cost  of 
5  to  6  cents  per  post)  has  recently  been  successfully 
demonstrated. 

While  the  foregoing  points  are  doubtless  worthy  of 
consideration,  it  is,  nevertheless,  true  that  the  foremost 
and  immediate  interest  in  timber  preservation  is  one 
which  deals  with  the  more  economical  handling  of  the 
timber  problem.  Timber  preservation  would  not  mean 
anything  if  it  could  not  be  shown  that  in  the  long  run 
it  is  cheaper  to  use  shortlived  woods  when  preserved 
than  unpreserved  longlived  woods. 

Without  going  into  details  at  this  point,  it  may  be 
stated  that  there  is  probably  no  one  to-day  who  does 
not  believe  that  timber  preservation  in  one  form  or 
another  pays.  The  extent  to  which  preservation  will 
pay  will  depend  upon  several  factors,  such  as  the  first 
cost  of  the  wood,  the  cost  of  renewal,  the  cost  of  the 
treatment.  In  a  recent  discussion  of  this  subject  it 
was  pointed  out  that  the   following  table  of  annual 


28o  Proc^e:dings  o^  th^ 

charges  might  be  taken  for  various  kinds  of  untreated 
and  treated  timbers. 

TABLE  SHOWING  ANNUAL  CHARGES. 

Timber  and  Length  of  Original  Cost  of    Annual 

Treatment.  Service.      Cost.    Treatm't.  Charge. 

White  oak,  untreated loyrs.        $0.85        $0,121 

Red  oak  or  loblolly  pine, 
untreated 5  yrs,  .40        .124 

Red  oak  or  loblolly  pine, 
with  zinc  chloride  treat- 
ment     10  yrs.  .40        $0.16  .085 

Red  oak  or  loblolly  pine, 
with  zinc  creosote  treat- 
ment    16  yrs.  .40  .25  .065 

Red  oak  or  loblolly  pine, 
with  creosote  treatment..  20 yrs.  .40  .45  .069 

The  conclusion  to  be  drawn  from  such  a  table  is  that 
the  treated  timber  in  every  case  is  cheaper  in  the  long 
run  than  the  untreated  timber;  furthermore,  that  the 
better  treatments,  although  more  expensive  at  first,  are 
very  much  cheaper  in  the  long  run.  One  ought  to  add 
that  the  treatments  given  above  were  selected  from  a 
long  list,  as  representing  extremes  and  averages  of 
cost. 

Having  reached  the  conclusion  that  timber  preser- 
vation is  worth  considering;  in  other  words,  that  it 
makes  possible  the  utilization  of  timbers  not  generally 
used,  and  that  it  pays,  one  may  consider  somewhat 
more  in  detail  some  of  the  problems  connected  with 
preservation.  One  cannot  dwell  too  frequently  upon 
the  sentence  that  timber  preservation  is  not  merely  an 
injection  of  salts  or  chemicals  into  wood.  I  have  stated 
elsewhere  that  it  involves  not  only  the  successful  injec- 
tion of  chemicals,  with  all  that  that  implies,  but  also 


American  Forest  Congress  281 

keeping  them  in  the  wood,  and  after  the  wood  has  been 
rendered  more  or  less  decay  or  fire-proof,  the  protection 
against  wear  must  be  considered. 

Successful  preservation — that  is,  preservation  which 
will  pay — will  depend  upon: 

1.  The  timber  used. 

2.  The  preserving  method  used. 

3.  How  the  preserving  is  done. 

4.  The  man  who  supervises  the  preserving. 

The  selection  of  timber  used  should  be  governed  by 
the  available  supply.  The  kind  of  wood  used  is  after 
all  probably  the  least  important  factor,  because,  when 
preserved,  the  indivuality  of  the  wood  becomes  more  or 
less  insignificant.  The  longest-lived  preserved  timber, 
speaking  with  reference  to  decay  alone,  will  be  the  one 
which  will  allow  of  the  most  perfect  and  even  penetra- 
tion of  a  preservative,  and  which  at  the  same  time  will 
hold  such  a  preservative.  But  we  not  only  want  long 
length  of  life,  but  also  a  timber  which,  with  any  given 
treatment,  will  bring  an  increased  length  of  life  which 
shall  represent  the  greatest  possible  financial  return  on 
the  original  investment,  made  up  of  the  first  cost  of  the 
timber  and  the  cost  of  the  preservative  process.  It  so 
happens  that  the  open-grained  porous  woods  which, 
when  untreated,  last  but  a  comparatively  short  time, 
give  high  penetration  and  comparatively  long  increase 
in  length  of  life ;  while  the  denser  woods,  which  ordi- 
narily are  called  longlived,  give  a  poor  penetration  and 
a  comparatively  short  increased  length  of  life  as  a 
result  of  preservation.  Recent  tests  with  timber  like 
beech  and  elm  have  shown  an  amazingly  high  absorp- 
tion for  zinc  chloride,  amounting  to  as  much  as  .65 
pounds  of  dry  zinc  chloride  per  cubic  foot,  using  a  2^^ 
per  cent  solution  of  zinc  chloride. 

It  is,  as  has  been  stated,  a  fortunate  fact  that  most 


282  Proceedings  oif  the 

of  the  shortlived  woods  conform  to  the  requirements 
for  long  increase  in  length  of  life,  just  referred  to,  and 
that  it  will  pay  to  use  them. 

Having  decided  upon  the  timber  available  which 
can  be  treated,  the  next  problem  is,  how  shall  the 
timber  be  treated  ?  In  other  words,  what  method  shall 
be  used?  There  are  a  host  of  processes,  beginning 
with  the  metallic  salts,  like  copper,  zinc,  mercury,  etc., 
and  ending  with  creosote  or  tar  oil,  either  alone  or 
in  combination,  for  all  of  which  certain  merits  are 
claimed,  omitting,  for  the  present,  processes  employing 
chemicals  of  unknown  preservative  value.  I  will  not 
have  the  time  to  discuss  this  important  question  at  any 
length  and  will  restrict  my  remarks  to  a  few  general 
considerations  which  it  seems  to  me  should  govern  in 
the  choice  of  a  preserving  process. 

I  regard  the  choice  of  a  process  entirely  as  one 
involving  a  certain  risk  in  investment.  One  must 
start,  of  course,  with  the  assumption  that  any  one  of 
half  a  dozen  processes  under  consideration  will  actually 
preserve  the  wood  for  a  shorter  or  longer  time.  This 
assumption  is  not  unfair,  when  one  is  dealing  with 
preservatives  of  such  known  value  as  zinc  chloride, 
copper  sulphate,  mercuric  chloride,  creosote  or  tar  oil, 
and  possibly  one  or  two  others.  Assuming,  then,  that 
these  preserve  wood,  one  naturally  comes  to  the 
question  of  cost.  This  one  may  regard  from  two 
standpoints;  the  first  one,  which  is  the  usual  one  in 
Europe,  considers  the  annual  charge;  in  other  words, 
the  saving  which  can  be  made  in  the  long  run  when 
comparing  an  untreated  with  a  treated  piece  of  wood. 
A  glance  at  the  table  which  I  presented  a  few  moments 
ago  will  show  that  in  the  long  run  the  creosoting 
process  in  some  form  is  the  cheapest,  even  if  it  costs 
more  at  the  beginning;  in  other  words,  the  annual 


American  Forest  Congress  283 

charge  on  an  untreated  loblolly  pine  tie  which  has  to 
be  replaced  every  five  years  is  $0.12,  while  for  the 
creosoted  tie  it  is  only  $0.06. 

Looking  at  the  problem  from  the  second  standpoint, 
one  considers  the  original  investment,  and  not  the 
annual  charge.  Taking  the  same  case  of  loblolly  pine, 
an  untreated  tie  costs  $0.40.  If  this  is  treated  with 
creosote  one  must  add  $0.45  to  this  cost;  in  other 
words,  a  new  tie  and  5  cents  more ;  while  if  one  treats 
such  a  tie  with  zinc  chloride  one  adds  on  only  $0.16, 
or  about  one-third  the  cost  of  a  new  tie. 

For  the  European  investor  who  deals  with  timbers 
of  a  high  initial  cost  a  comparison  such  as  the  one  just 
mentioned  does  not  occur.  The  French  beech  tie  cost- 
ing $1  or  more  and  lasting  four  years  when  untreated, 
will  last  25  to  30  years  when  treated  with  creosote,  at 
a  cost  of  75  cents  or  thereabouts.  It  is  obviously  the 
correct  thing  for  these  conditions  to  use  the  most 
expensive  treatment.  The  number  of  ties  treated  is 
comparatively  small,  the  economic  conditions  are  more 
or  less  settled,  and  the  investment  of  75  cents  per  tie 
for  treatment  is  not  felt  as  a  hardship. 

When  we  turn  to  our  condition  in  this  country  we 
have  a  different  problem  to  face.  While  the  spending 
of  45  cents  for  treatment  of  a  40-cent  tie  may  give 
good  results,  it  would  be  a  poor  investment,  for  the 
risk  would  be  too  great.  After  five  or  six  years  the 
tie  sizes  may  be  changed,  and  by  that  time  only  a  small 
portion  of  the  investment  made  in  the  treatment  would 
be  realized.  An  investment  of  45  cents  additional  on 
a  40-cent  tie  lasting  four  years  would  furthermore 
mean  the  immediate  expenditure  of  a  very  large  sum 
of  money,  which  would  show  no  return  until  more  than 
eight  years  had  elapsed.  This  sort  of  investment  is 
not  profitable,  although  it  doubtless  will  come  at  some 
future  period. 


284  Proceedings  o^  the 

No  treatment  can  be  seriously  considered  which  costs 
more  than  25  to  30  cents.  Wood  is  still  cheap,  and 
until  the  original  cost  of  a  tie  goes  to  $1  or  thereabouts 
cheaper  treatments  must  prevail.  Of  those  advocated 
I  would  advise  using  the  best ;  in  other  words,  consid- 
ering the  investment  from  the  first  standpoint,  that  of 
annual  charges.  This  would  mean  either  a  cheap 
creosote  treatment,  one  using  small  amounts  of  oil  with 
as  good  penetration  as  can  be  obtained,  or  a  zinc  creo- 
sote combination,  both  of  which  would  cost  20  cents 
or  thereabouts.  The  risk  taken  would  be  a  small  one 
because  the  preservatives  have  a  known  value  and  the 
original  amount  would  not  be  a  disproportionate  one 
when  compared  with  the  cost  of  a  new  tie. 

From  this  brief  outline  of  the  kind  of  preservative 
to  be  used,  we  may  pass  to  some  of  the  results  which 
have  been  obtained  from  preservative  treatment.  While 
timber  preservation  has  been  practiced  more  or  less  in 
this  country  for  many  years,  it  has  been  carried  on  in 
such  a  way  as  to  give  few  reliable  data.  The  records 
which  were  kept  during  the  early  days  are  very  unsat- 
isfactory, and  only  very  general  conclusions  can  be 
drawn.  In  getting  together  the  figures  for  the  coming 
International  Railway  Congress,  as  to  results  obtained, 
we  went  carefully  over  all  records  kept  by  American 
railroads. 

As  a  result  of  our  study,  we  were  able  to  report  an 
average  length  of  life  obtained  for  hemlock  ties  laid 
in  Iowa,  treated  with  the  Wellhouse  process  (zinc 
chloride,  glue,  and  tannin),  of  10.6  years;  hemlock 
untreated  lasts  about  four  years.  About  the  same 
length  of  service  was  obtained  in  the  southwestern 
states  with  mountain  pine  treated  with  zinc  chloride, 
glue,  and  tannin.  These  results  are  on  the  whole  very 
satisfactory,  for  the  length  of  life  of  these  shortlived 


American  Forkst  Congress  285 

woods  was  more  than  doubled  at  a  cost  not  quite 
one-half  the  original  cost  of  a  new  tie. 

Timbers  treated  with  creosote  show  results  in  the 
United  States  similar  to  those  obtained  in  European 
countries.  Piling  of  longleaf  yellow  pine  has  been  in 
service  in  bridges  since  1869  and  1870  in  several  south- 
ern states,  and  a  recent  examination  shows  that  the 
wood  is  still  sound.  There  is  no  longer  any  necessity 
for  doubting  the  value  of  creosote  (or,  as  it  should  be 
more  properly  called,  tar  oil)  as  a  wood  preservative. 
Where  a  good  quality  is  used,  and  with  a  sufficient 
quantity  injected,  an  almost  indefinite  length  of  life 
can  be  obtained.  The  chief  objection  against  its  uni- 
versal use  has  been  the  high  cost  of-  the  oil  and  the 
small  quantities  available.  There  seems  to  be  no  good 
reason  why  more  tar  oil  should  not  be  produced  in  this 
country  and  at  lower  cost.  It  is  encouraging  to  note 
the  introduction  of  by-product  coke  ovens  in  which  the 
available  tar  oils  are  being  saved.  More  of  those 
by-product  ovens  should  be  constructed,  and  if  uni- 
versally used  in  coke-burning  regions  there  would  no 
longer  be  any  dearth  of  oil. 

There  are  several  new  processes  using  creosote 
which  are  so  conducted  as  to  use  small  quantities  of 
creosote,  thereby  reducing  the  cost  of  treatment  and 
bringing  the  creosoting  process  within  the  range  of 
consideration.  In  speaking  of  creosote,  I  cannot  omit 
a  word  of  caution  as  to  the  manner  in  which  wood  is 
frequently  treated  with  tar  oil.  Creosoted  wood  has 
a  bad  reputation  in  many  quarters,  for  it  is  said  that 
the  treatment  with  tar  oil  makes  the  wood  weak,  brittle, 
and  brash.  That  such  is  frequently  the  case  no  one 
who  has  had  occasion  to  examine  any  amount  of  creo- 
soted timber  can  doubt.  During  the  past  summer  we 
have  been  conducting  an  extensive  series  of  tests  at 


286  Proceedings  of  the 

St.  Louis  to  determine  what  influence  treatment  had 
on  the  strength  of  wood  fibre.  The  effect  of  the  usual 
preHminary  steaming  was  investigated,  and  also  the 
effect  of  injecting  creosote  in  varying  quantities  with- 
out preliminary  steaming.  While  it  is  as  yet  too  early 
for  final  conclusions,  I  am  glad  to  be  able  to  state  that 
we  have  determined  very  definitely  that  the  injection 
of  creosote  into  wood  has  about  the  same  effect  as 
injecting  a  similar  amount  of  water;  in  other  words, 
the  creosote  in  and  of  itself  in  no  way  renders  wood 
brittle  and  weak.  We  found  that  the  brittleness  or 
weakness  was  brought  about  by  the  steaming  operation 
before  the  injection  of  the  oil.  Steaming  at  20  pounds 
for  about  four  hours  did  not  affect  the  fibre  materially, 
but  when  continued  for  a  longer  period  the  wood  was 
weakened.  After  ten  hours  of  steaming  at  20  pounds 
pressure  the  wood  decreased  as  much  as  26  per  cent 
in  strength.  The  same  was  true  when  steamed  at 
higher  pressures. 

These  results  clearly  indicate  that  where  the  best 
results  are  to  be  obtained  as  little  steaming  as  possible 
should  be  practiced  in  treating  wood  with  creosote. 
This  will  probably  hold  for  other  preservatives  as  well. 

A  word  should  be  said  here  concerning  some  of  the 
problems  dealing  with  abrasion  of  treated  timbers. 
No  process  of  preserving  will  pay  if  the  preserved 
timber  is  rendered  unfit  by  being  worn  out  prematurely. 
The  question  of  tie  plates  and  rail  fastenings  should 
receive  serious  consideration  in  all  discussions  on  pres- 
ervation. It  so  happens  that  many  of  the  shortlived 
woods  are  soft  and  easily  worn.  Preservation  will 
protect  them  against  decay,  but  not  necessarily  against 
wear.  Recent  trials  with  wooden  tie  plates  have 
proven  very  encouraging.  Some  of  these,  made  of 
cypress,  have  been  in  a  main  line  track  for  eight  months 


Amejrican  Fore:st  Congrejss  287 

with  very  satisfactory  results.  This  goes  to  show  that 
there  may  be  many  ways  and  means  for  protecting  the 
soft  woods  against  wear. 

The  success  of  any  preservative  process  will  depend 
largely  upon  the  care  with  which  it  is  carried  out. 
One  must  come  more  and  more  to  the  realization  that 
preservation  is  a  dendro-chemical  industry,  involving 
a  technical  knowledge  of  timber  and  of  chemical 
processes,  all  stages  of  which  should  be  carefully  con- 
trolled. In  dealing  with  timber  one  deals  with  one  of 
the  most  variable  classes  of  material,  no  two  pieces  of 
which  are  alike  at  any  time,  and  knowledge  and  judg- 
ment are  required  to  obtain  the  best  results  under  these 
varying  conditions.  There  are  numerous  preserving 
plants  now  in  operation,  but  of  these  there  is  only  one, 
so  far  as  I  am  aware,  where  a  trained  chemist  with  a 
good  laboratory  watches  every  stage  of  the  process. 
The  wood-preserving  industry,  although  it  has  been 
practiced  in  this  country  for  many  years,  is  still  com- 
paratively a  new  industry,  which  is  beginning  to  assume 
larger  proportions.  Wherever  preserving  is  carried 
on  it  should  be  with  all  the  care  of  a  chemical  factory. 
The  nature  of  the  wood  should  be  known,  its  stage  of 
seasoning,  its  absorptive  capacities,  the  absorption 
obtained  in  various  runs,  the  temperatures  reached 
during  treatment — all  these  points  and  many  others 
should  be  watched  and  recorded  for  future  reference. 

This  naturally  leads  one  to  speak  of  the  person  who 
is  to  have  charge  of  work  of  this  character.  I  have 
repeatedly  urged  that  the  preserving  problem,  in  its 
relation  to  the  railroad  and  other  industries  using 
treated  woods  is  a  problem  worthy  of  the  undivided 
attention  of  a  trained  technical  man. 

A  railroad  should  have  a  man  who  can  deal  with 
timber  in  its  broadest  sense.     I  do  not  mean  a  pur- 


288  Proceedings  of  the 

chasing  agent,  but  a  technical  man,  who  should  have  a 
position  equivalent  to  the  consulting  engineer,  reporting 
to  the  vice-president  or  general  manager.  He  should 
be  able  to  deal  with  forest  lands  in  their  relation  to 
railroad  supplies,  with  timber  inspection,  handling, 
treatment,  and  its  final  disposition.  He  should  have 
authority  to  make  investigations  with  competent  assist- 
ants, so  as  to  keep  himself  posted  as  to  changes  in 
methods,  as  to  timber  values,  maintenance  problems, 
etc.,  and  his  opinion  should  be  that  of  an  expert.  So 
far  as  I  know,  only  one  railroad  has  so  far  created  a 
position  of  manager  of  a  tie  and  timber  department  in 
the  sense  indicated.  It  is  particularly  striking  that 
this  should  be  the  Atchison,  Topeka  and  Santa  Fe 
Railroad,  a  road  with  the  largest  experience  in  timber 
treating  of  any  in  this  country.  The  example  which 
they  have  set  should  be  followed  by  others. 

In  discussing  preserving  problems  I  have  spoken 
largely  of  ties  and  railroad  timbers  because  these  forms 
of  timber  have  so  far  been  most  frequently  treated. 
Most  of  the  preserving  plants  are  either  directly  or 
indirectly  connected  with  railroad  operations.  The 
chemical  preservation  of  wood,  whether  it  be  against 
decay,  fire,  warping,  stains,  etc.,  will  probably  play  an 
increasingly  important  part  in  the  development  of  an 
economical  utilization  of  forest  products.  Not  only 
will  it  affect  railway  and  telegraph  interests,  but  also 
in  a  smaller  way  each  owner  of  forest  lands  and  the 
smaller  user  of  timber.  Farmers  have  been  using 
longlived  timbers  for  fence  posts.  These  are  getting 
expensive  in  many  parts  and  have  to  be  shipped  long 
distances.  By  treating  the  saplings  growing  on  his 
own  farm,  each  farmer  will  be  able  to  make  his  own 
posts  at  slight  expense. 

The  lumber  interests  will  be  influenced  by  the  more 


American  Forest  Congress  289 

general  introduction  of  preserving  processes.  Woods 
which  have  had  Httle  value  will  find  a  market,  and 
those  woods  which,  in  their  untreated  condition,  are 
low-priced,  will  appreciate  in  price  when  once  it  can  be 
shown  how  they  can  be  treated  to  give  them  increased 
lasting  power,  or  make  them  higher  grade. 

There  is  as  yet  no  general  appreciation  of  the  fact 
that  most  kinds  of  timber  can  be  successfully  treated. 
Treatment  is  an  exception  and  rarely  considered  either 
by  the  producer  or  consumer.  We  have  been  spoiled  by 
the  wealth  of  timber  of  superior  qualities  which  we  have 
had  for  many  years,  and  it  may  take  some  time  to  eflfect 
a  change.  That  this  change  is  coming  I  feel  sure  of, 
and  can  prove  it  by  the  following  extract  from  a  letter 
written  by  a  farmer  in  one  of  the  northern  states,  who 
asks:  "Please  tell  me  how  I  can  preserve  maple  fence 
posts  to  prevent  rot  at  the  ground.  If  you  can't  tell 
me  how  to  make  them  last  thirty  years  or  more  you 
needn't  take  the  trouble  to  reply  to  this  letter." 


LETTER  FROM  JAMES  J.  HILL 

Hon.  Jame:s  Wii^son, 

Secretary  of  Agriculture, 
Washington,  D.  C. 
Dear  Mr.  Wilson : 

I  wired  you  to-day  my  inability  to  be  present  at  the 
Forest  Congress,  which  I  very  much  regret. 

The  subject  is  of  importance  far  beyond  the  general 
understanding  of  the  public.  The  growth  of  popula- 
tion in  the  United  States  has  practically  covered  all  the 
land  which  can  be  cultivated  with  a  profit  without 
artificial  moisture.  Irrigation  and  forestry  are  the 
two  subjects  which  are  to  have  a  greater  effect  on  the 
future  prosperity  of  the  United  States  than  any  other 
public  questions,  either  within  or  without  Congress. 
Yours  truly, 

(Signed)     J  as.  J.  Hihh. 


PART  VI. 


IMPORTANCE  OF  PUBLIC  FOREST    LANDS 

TO  MINING 


THE    DEVELOPMENT    OF    WATER 

POWER  AS  RELATED  TO  FOREST 

RESERVES 

BY 

A.  L  FELLOWS 

District  Engineer,  United  States  Reclamation  Service 

I  IGHT  and  heat,  air  and  water,  all  earth's  elements 
combine  in  the  formation  of  a  habitation  fitted 
for  her  children.  Nature  has  apparently  employed 
all  her  many  agencies  and  utilized  all  her  generative 
forces  in  heaping  up  her  bounteous  and  varied  stores 
for  the  enjoyment  of  her  creatures.  Through  untold 
ages  she  was  engaged  in  preparing  a  home  for  her 
humbler  children,  and  throughout  the  countless  cen- 
turies that  have  passed  since  the  earth  was  first  fitted 
for  the  sustenance  of  life,  she  has  continuously  been 
perfecting  conditions  suitable  for  higher  and  yet  higher 
species  of  living,  sentient  creatures,  until,  at  the  present 
time,  man,  that  species  which  we  in  our  self-esteem 
count  highest  of  them  all,  holds  the  center  of  the  stage. 
Amongst  the  many  secondary  agencies  which  the 
great  all-Mother  has  utilized  in  making  this  earth  a 
habitation  and  a  home  for  all  her  creatures,  the  forest 
stands  almost  preeminent.  It  has  clothed  the  earth 
as  with  a  garment,  protecting  it  from  storms  and 
erosion.  It  has  been  the  home  of  almost  all  varieties 
of  land  life  from  the  lowest  to  the  highest.  It  has 
saved  its  denizens  from  the  rigors  of  the  winter's  cold 
and  from  the  summer's  scorching  heat.  Not  contented 
with  the  bestowal  of  mere  temporary  benefits,  it  has 
stored  up  in  the  coal  measures  the  heat  and  sunshine 
of  summers  long  past  for  the  use  and  enjoyment  of 


294  Proce:e:dings  O^  THI^ 

the  creatures  of  to-day.  It  is  to-day,  as  it  has  always 
been,  a  most  active  agent  in  the  preservation  and  up- 
building of  the  human  race  and  a  most  important 
factor  in  providing  in  all  ways  for  man's  comfort.  It 
furnishes  him  with  both  the  necessities  and  the  luxuries 
of  life,  nourishing  his  body  and  gratifying  his  soul's 
desires.  From  and  through  it  have  come  the  materials 
by  which  man  has  subdued  both  the  land  and  the  sea 
and,  to-day,  it  is,  as  it  has  ever  been,  the  benefactor 
of  all,  of  "man  and  bird  and  beast." 

Others  have  touched  upon  its  importance  as  the 
source  of  our  timber  supply,  the  conservation  of  water 
for  our  irrigation  projects,  the  chief  dependence  of 
our  range  industries,  our  railroads,  our  wood-working 
and  publishing  interests,  and  the  general  welfare  of 
the  public.  I  desire  now  to  invite  your  attention  for 
a  few  moment  to  its  importance  as  a  factor  in  the 
development  of  the  waste  power  which  lies  dormant 
in  all  our  running  streams  and  upon  which  the  future 
welfare  of  the  entire  country  will  so  greatly  depend. 

The  people  of  the  United  States  are  but  just  awak- 
ening to  the  great  possibilities  existing  in  embryo  in 
our  creeks  and  rivers.  Electricity,  that  giant  dynamic 
of  the  present  generation  and  of  countless  generations 
yet  unborn,  is  hardly  more  than  in  its  infancy.  Every 
stream,  small  or  large,  has  potential  power,  which  can 
be  carried  practically  unlimited  distances,  at  least  sev- 
eral hundreds  of  miles,  and  can  be  used  in  any  amount 
desired  or  in  any  desired  combination  with  that  derived 
from  similar  streams,  though  they  may  be  many  miles 
apart.  One  of  the  greatest  needs  that  this  country 
has  to-day  is  a  cheaper  form  of  power,  so  that  indus- 
tries as  yet  undeveloped  on  account  of  the  excessive 
cost  of  operation  under  existing  conditions,  may  in 
their  turn  add  to  the  national  wealth.     This  is  true 


Ame:rican  Forest  Congress  295 

along  nearly  all  industrial  lines,  but  the  need  is  perhaps 
more  pronounced  in  mining  regions  than  it  is  else- 
where. By  far  the  greater  number  of  our  ore  deposits 
are  of  such  low  grade  or  are  located  so  unfavorably 
with  reference  to  the  utilization  of  coal  or  the  other 
more  usual  methods  of  power  development  that  their 
economical  operation  is  out  of  the  question.  In  many  of 
our  mining  camps  coal  costs  from  $10  to  $15  per  ton, 
and  at  many  of  the  mines  its  delivery,  even  at  such 
high  rates,  is  impossible. 

The  only  practicable  power  in  such  cases  is  that 
obtained  from  electrical  energy,  and  it  is  to  this  force 
that  mine  operators  are  turning. 

There  is  no  doubt  but  that  many  times  the  amount 
of  power  used  in  mining  operations  at  present  could 
be  utilized  to  advantage  at  prices  that  would  well  pay 
capital  to  furnish  it,  provided  the  means  for  creating 
the  power  could  be  depended  upon. 

Electrical  power  may  be  generated  in  many  ways, 
but  in  none  more  practically  or  more  beautifully  than 
by  the  use  of  water.  Here  a  great  dynamic  is  utilized 
which  would  otherwise  waste  itself.  We  here  avail 
ourselves  of  one  of  Nature's  resources  without  in  any 
way  exhausting  her  reserve  supplies  as  is  done  in  the 
present  wasteful  use  of  coal.  Conditions  may  easily 
be  conceived — in  fact,  many  such  cases  exist — where 
a  given  water  supply  may  be  utilized  several  times 
over  in  the  development  of  power  without  diminution 
in  quantity  or  deterioration  in  quality,  and  be  used 
again  finally  for  city  water  supply  and  in  irrigation, 
and  the  day  is  not  far  distant  when  all  of  the  mountain 
streams,  with  well  sustained  flow,  will  be  utilized  to 
an  extent  now  hardly  dreamed  of. 

The  development  of  electrical  energy  on  a  commer- 
cial basis  upon  a  given  stream  and  with  a  given  fall 


296  Procejedings  o^  the 

will  depend  upon  a  variety  of  conditions,  and  in  nearly 
every  one  of  these  conditions  the  forestation  or  lack  of 
such  upon  the  headwaters  of  the  stream  plays  an  im- 
portant part.  First  of  all  is  the  total  amount  of  water 
available  which  must,  however,  be  considered  in  con- 
nection with  the  nature  of  its  discharge — whether 
perennial  or  spasmodic. 

The  ideal  condition  for  a  maximum  development  of 
power  would  be  that  prevailing  under  a  reservoir  so 
large  as  to  be  able  to  impound  all  the  run-off  resulting 
from  precipitation  in  the  given  drainage  basis  and  its 
complete  regulation.  To  insure  permanence  in  reser- 
voir capacity,  the  water  supply  must  be  clear,  free  from 
the  presence  of  silt  resulting  from  erosion,  and  removed 
as  completely  as  possible  from  evaporative  influences. 
The  maximum  development  demands  that  the  entire 
quantity  shall  be  under  such  perfect  control  that  a 
little  more  or  less  as  desired  may  be  utilized  at  any  given 
time;  and  that  it  be  well  sustained  throughout  the 
year  or  other  long  periods,  approaching  as  nearly  as 
possible  a  perfectly  even  flow,  with  but  little,  if  any, 
more  in  May  and  June  than  in  September,  January, 
or  any  other  month;  since  the  power  developed,  to 
be  of  commercial  value,  must  permit  of  dependence 
being  placed  upon  it  throughout  long  periods  of  time. 
Otherwise  it  will  not  pay  to  install  and  operate  the 
necessary  plants. 

Such  conditions  as  have  been  described  are  not  often 
even  approached  in  nature,  but  in  many  localities  far- 
seeing  men  are  trying  to  approach  them  as  nearly  as 
practicable  through  the  construction  of  great  storage 
reservoirs  and  by  forestation,  and,  where  the  head- 
waters have  been  denuded  of  the  timber,  by  reforestation. 

Here  is,  to  a  great  extent,  the  keynote  of  the  situa- 
tion.    Those  regions  that  approach  most  closely  to  the 


American  Forest  Congress  297 

ideal  conditions  are  those  which  are  densely  forested 
and  can,  therefore,  act  as  conservators  of  the  water 
supply  with  the  least  artificial  aid. 

Forests  aid  in  controlling  the  run-off.  Compare 
two  tracts  similar  in  all  other  respects,  but  the  one 
densely  covered  with  a  forest  canopy,  while  the  other 
has  been  denuded  of  such  protection.  In  the  first 
case  the  forest  cover,  with  its  attendant  conditions  of  a 
more  granular  and  porous  soil,  its  humus  and  leaf 
mould,  holds  back  precipitation  instead  of  letting  it 
run  off  as  rapidly  as  it  would  otherwise  do.  The 
snows  of  winter  cover  the  ground  with  comparative 
evenness,  so  that  it  is  protected  from  rapid  melting 
when  the  sudden  warm  periods  come.  The  moisture, 
moreover,  instead  of  disappearing  rapidly  as  surface 
run-off,  goes  very  largely  into  the  ground  to  appear 
in  the  form  of  springs,  perhaps  months  later,  as  seepage 
run-off.  The  same  is  true  of  the  summer  rains.  In- 
stead of  the  precipitation  resulting  from  this  cause 
converging  rapidly  into  a  great  torrent  sweeping 
everything  from  before  it,  the  moisture  goes  into  the 
ground  to  return  again  as  run-off  when  it  is  more 
particularly  needed,  the  otherwise  torrential  stream 
becoming  well  sustained  and  perennial. 

From  deforested  tracts  the  run-off  is  much  more 
likely  to  be  beyond  human  control.  Great  floods  made 
up  from  the  converging  streams  carrying  logs  and 
debris  of  all  kinds  before  them,  sweep  irresistibly 
down  the  river  valleys,  taking  with  them  diversion 
dams,  gates,  power  plants,  and  destroying  what  they 
cannot  carry  away. 

Then  again,  in  a  well  forested  tract,  if  over-grazing, 
with  its  attendant  ills,  has  not  been  tolerated,  there  is 
usually  a  dense  undergrowth,  which  retards  the  run- 
off during  rapid  melting  or  after  violent  storms.     Its 


298  Proceedings  o^  the 

tendency  in  these  particulars  is  to  cut  off  the  crest  of 
the  destructive  floods,  depriving  them  of  their  power 
to  do  harm. 

The  presence  or  absence  of  forests  undoubtedly  has 
a  marked  bearing,  too,  upon  the  quantity  of  the  run- 
off. This  effect  varies  with  a  number  of  different 
conditions,  chief  amongst  which  are  the  permeability 
and  porosity  of  the  soil,  the  different  habits  in  different 
species  of  plant  life  in  the  matter  of  transpiration  and 
the  differences  in  evaporation  influences.  The  soil  con- 
ditions have  already  been  touched  upon.  Retention  of  a 
large  part  of  the  precipitation  by  the  soil  instead  of  its 
being  permitted  to  flow  off  rapidly  may,  and  probably 
must  in  many  localities — as,  for  example,  in  the  arid  re- 
gions— result  in  a  decreased  total  run-off  owing  to 
the  probably  greater  increased  "fly-off,"  as  the  sum 
of  the  evaporation  and  the  transpiration  is  sometimes 
termed.  This  diminution  in  the  total  quantity  is, 
however,  considerably  more  than  offset  by  the  advan- 
tages incident  to  a  regulation  of  the  run-off  and  conse- 
quent increase  in  the  low  water  discharge.  As  our 
old  friend  "Mike"  once  said:  "It's  better  to  have 
a  little  liquid  refreshment  when  you  need  it,  than  to 
have  a  high  old  time  twice  in  a  year." 

It  has  been  demonstrated  that  evaporation,  greatest 
of  all  from  a  water  surface  in  the  open,  is  nearly  as 
great  from  a  wet  earth  surface  similarly  situated,  and 
that  the  evaporation  from  a  tract  surrounded  by  forests 
is  far  less  than  it  is  from  otherwise  similar,  but  un- 
protected areas,  this  being  due  principally  to  the  char- 
acteristics of  the  forest  as  a  modifier  of  temperature 
and  as  a  wind-break  and  shield. 

This  matter  has  been  discussed  at  length  by  Mr.  G. 
W.  Rafter  in  a  number  of  valuable  papers,  in  which 
he  shows  beyond  doubt  that  in  humid  regions  at  any 


Ame:rican  Forest  Congress  299 

rate  the  fly-off  is  materially  less  in  forested  than  in 
unforested  tracts. 

In  the  matter  of  transpiration,  also,  it  has  been  shown 
that  the  amount  transpired  from  the  forest  growth  is 
considerably  less  than  it  is  from  cultivated  crops. 
These  matters  have  been  carefully  gone  into  in  Mr. 
Rafter's  papers,  already  mentioned,  in  Dr.  Fernow's 
book,  ''The  Economics  of  Forestry,"  and  in  Prof. 
Toumey's  discussion  of  ''The  Relation  of  Forests  to 
Stream  Flow,"  as  well  as  in  many  other  important 
papers. 

The  conclusions  reached  are,  in  effect,  that  as  be- 
tween forested  and  unforested  tracts,  the  quantity  of 
run-off  is  materially  augmented  in  the  former  case  in 
humid  regions  where  rains  occur  with  more  or  less 
frequency,  but  that  in  arid  regions,  where  precipitation 
occurs  but  rarely,  that  the  retention  of  the  moisture 
by  the  forests  results  in  some  loss  in  total  run-off, 
which,  however,  is  more  than  compensated  by  the 
greatly  increased  flow  during  the  periods  of  minimum 
discharge. 

Another  important  result  of  forestation  must  also 
be  considered  in  this  connection.  It  has  been  stated 
that  the  ideal  conditions  prevail  when  the  total  run- 
off can  be  controlled  at  will,  the  water  being  stored  in 
great  reservoirs.  In  a  great  many  instances  those  who 
are  interested  in  the  development  of  power  are  endeav- 
oring to  attain  these  ideal  conditions  as  nearly  as  possi- 
ble, through  the  utilization  of  natural  reservoir  sites. 
Here,  too,  the  forests  serve  a  most  useful  purpose  by 
preventing  erosion.  A  tract  of  land  that  has  been 
denuded  of  its  supply  of  timber,  especially  when  the 
denudation  is  due  to  fires  so  fierce  as  to  destroy  the 
humus  and  leaf  mould  with  the  vegetation,  imme- 
diately becomes  subject  to  the  action  of  storms  and 
the  torrential  run-off  resulting  in  the  rapid  erosion 


300  Proceedings  o^  the 

of  the  soil,  and  thus  filHng  the  reservoir  with  silt  and 
debris,  shortens  their  periods  of  usefulness,  and  de- 
stroys their  efficiency.  That  deforestation  does 
result  in  an  increase  in  the  amount  of  sediment  con- 
veyed by  the  running  water  has  been  amply  demon- 
strated by  investigations  carried  on  both  in  this  country 
and  in  others.  All  measurements  of  silt,  so  far  as  is 
known,  indicate  that  the  run-off  from  unprotected 
areas  is  much  more  heavily  laden  with  gravel,  sand, 
earth,  and  organic  matter  than  is  the  discharge  from 
areas  well  protected  by  forests. 

Where  storage  is  not  practiced,  forestation  still 
remains  an  important  factor  in  power  development, 
since  a  requisite  of  the  utilization  of  the  water  supply 
for  this  purpose  depends  to  some  extent  upon  the 
freedom  of  the  water  from  impurities.  The  presence 
of  a  greater  or  less  quantity  of  silt  or  sand  in  the  water 
supply  has  an  important  bearing  upon  the  longevity  of 
the  machinery,  especially  the  cups  and  bearings  of  the 
impulse  wheels.  The  more  rapid  deterioration  in  the 
machinery  may  represent  a  very  greatly  increased  cost 
in  the  development  of  power  and  a  consequent  limita- 
tion to  its  sphere  of  usefulness. 

Practically  all  that  has  been  said  concerning  the 
development  of  electrical  energy  is  applicable  also  to 
the  development  of  power  directly  and  through  the 
compression  of  air  through  the  agency  of  water  falling 
through  a  shaft,  a  process  which  it  is  predicted  will 
become  much  better  known  and  utilized  in  the  future 
than  it  has  been  in  the  past. 

Having  established  the  fact  that  there  is  a  close  rela- 
tion existing  between  forests  and  the  development  of 
power  through  the  medium  of  our  streams  it  is  an  easy 
task  to  demonstrate  the  necessity  for  forest  reserves 
and  for  their  proper  control  and  management. 

It  is  clear  that  forest  lands  still  remaining  in  the 


American  Forest  Congress  301 

Government  possession  should  neither  be  allowed  to 
pass  into  private  ownership  nor  should  they  remain 
part  of  the  unregulated  public  domain,  especially  under 
the  conditions  that  prevail  at  the  present  time.  In  the 
former  case,  where  such  lands  are  permitted  to  pass 
into  private  ownership,  human  nature  remaining  as 
it  now  is,  the  controlling  impulse  will  be  to  get  the 
most  money  possible  out  of  the  land  in  the  shortest 
possible  time.'  This  will  usually  result  in  the  clearing 
off  of  the  timber  by  the  wasteful  methods  now  prac- 
ticed, without  thought  for  the  future.  Reforestation 
will  not  be  carried  on,  and  the  certain  result  will  be 
the  rapid  denudation  of  all  our  forested  areas. 

Again,  it  will  not  do  for  the  methods  and  regulations 
now  in  vogue  with  reference  to  the  use  of  timber  upon 
the  public  domain  to  be  continued,  since  it  inevitably 
results  in  the  breaking  out  of  forest  fires  and  the  wan- 
ton destruction  of  great  bodies  of  timber,  in  addition 
to  the  great  amounts  of  timber  of  which  the  Govern- 
ment is  annually  robbed.  In  investigations  which 
have  been  made  under  my  direction  it  has  been  clearly 
shown  that  many  fires  that  had  broken  out  in  thickly 
forested  districts  of  the  public  domain  had  been  fol- 
lowed within  a  year  or  two  by  requests  for  Government 
permits  for  the  use  of  the  fire-killed  timber  left  stand- 
ing, which  often  makes  the  very  best  mine  and  tunnel 
timbers. 

The  forested  areas  must  be  watered  and  the  cutting 
down  upon  them  must  be  regulated.  The  grazing 
must  be  restricted  so  that  the  grass  and  other  vegeta- 
tion shall  not  be  destroyed.  Deforested  tracts  must 
be  reforested  and  only  by  the  establishment  of  forest 
reserves  and  through  their  proper  control  by  trained 
foresters,  can  we  approach  to  the  most  ideal  condition 
possible  for  the  conservation  of  our  water  supply — a 
forest  growth  covering  their  headwaters. 


WILL  THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  THE 
FOREST  RESERVES  ON  A  CONSER- 
VATIVE BASIS  RETARD  THE  DE- 
VELOPMENT OF  MINING? 

BY 

SETH  BULLOCK 

Supervisor,  Black  Hills  Forest  Reserve 

nr  HE  request  of  your  honored  President  for  a  paper 
from  me  to  be  presented  before  this  distinguished 
gathering  was  a  genuine  surprise,  as  I  am  not  an 
adept  in  that  Hne  of  forest  reserve  work.  My  first 
impulse  was  to  decHne  the  honor,  but  after  considering 
the  proposition  in  all  its  phases,  I  concluded  that  in 
view  of  the  recent  favorable  legislation  by  the  Congress 
of  the  United  States,  looking  towards  the  placing  of 
the  forest  reserves  and  the  forest  reserve  officials  in 
the  department  so  ably  administered  by  Secretary 
Wilson,  that  it  would  be  wise  for  me  to  endeavor  to 
comply  with  the  request  of  President  Wilson,  and  if 
the  paper  prepared  should  merit  any  punishment  I 
could  enter  that  time-honored  and  usually  successful 
plea  of  self-defense  in  mitigation  of  my  sentence.  The 
question  upon  which  I  am  requested  to  enlighten  this 
aggregation  of  diversified  wisdom  is,  "Will  the  admin- 
istration of  the  forest  reserves  on  a  conservative  basis 
retard  the  development  of  mining?"  To  properly  ar- 
rive at  an  understanding  and  solution  of  this  question 
(and  I  assure  you  that  it  is  a  large  one),  it  will  first 
be  necessary  to  determine  to  what  extent  the  mine  is 
dependent  on  the  forest,  and  I  wish  it  to  be  understood 


Ame:rican  Forest  Congre:ss  303 

that  my  remarks  will  refer  chiefly  to  the  conditions 
existing  in  the  Black  Hills  Forest  Reserve,  the  only 
one  of  the  larger  timber  reservations  with  which  I  am- 
thoroughly  familiar. 

Nearly  all  the  developed  mines  of  the  Black  Hills 
are  large  deposits  of  comparatively  low  grade  gold  ore, 
either  free-milling  or  cyaniding  in  its  character;  fre- 
quently both  processes  are  combined  in  the  extraction 
of  the  values  from  the  ore.  In  the  successful  prose- 
cution of  the  work  required  to  make  a  mine  productive 
and  remunerative  to  the  owners,  the  use  of  timber  is 
an  absolute  necessity.  Its  uses  are  varied.  It  is  re- 
quired to  timber  the  shafts  through  which  the  ore  is 
drawn  to  the  surface.  Heavy  timbers  are  also  required 
to  take  the  place  of  the  ore  mined,  to  hold  up  the  roof 
of  the  workings  and  sustain  the  sides  of  the  stopes 
and  drifts.  The  place  of  every  supporting  atom  taken 
from  the  interior  of  a  mine,  like  the  Homestake, 
for  instance,  must  be  filled  by  some  other  material 
which  can  carry  the  burden  with  safety  to  the  lives 
of  the  miners  employed.  This  requires  timber  from 
the  forest.  No  other  material  can  be  substitued  for  it. 
The  use  of  iron  or  steel  posts  and  beams  is  prohibited 
by  their  cost,  to  say  nothing  about  their  inadaptability 
to  the  work  of  underground  mining. 

To  form  some  idea  of  the  large  amount  of  timber 
used  by  a  mine  of  the  magnitude  of  the  Homestake, 
it  is  only  necessary  to  state  that  over  one  and  one- 
quarter  million  tons  of  ore  are  annually  extracted  from 
this  property,  practically  all  of  which  is  taken  out  at 
a  greater  depth  than  500  feet  from  the  surface  of  the 
ground.  Its  deepest  workings  are,  I  am  informed, 
over  1,250  feet. 

It  can  be  truly  said  that  a  veritable  forest  has  been 
used  under  ground  in  the  mines  of  the  Black  Hills 


304  Proc^e:dings  O]?  THE^ 

during  the  few  years  they  have  been  in  operation ;  that 
no  more  of  the  forest  has  been  used  in  their  develop- 
ment than  has  been  absolutely  necessary,  is  doubtless 
true.  The  grade  of  the  ore,  the  high  wages  paid,  and 
the  satisfactory  returns  received  in  most  cases  on  the 
investment,  prove  that  the  mines  have  been  most  eco- 
nomically managed,  the  timbering  being  one  of  the 
heaviest  items  of  expense  in  their  operation. 

In  addition  to  the  timber  used  under  ground  in  pre- 
cious metal  mining,  large  quantities  are  required  on 
the  surface  in  the  erection  of  ore  reduction  works  and 
buildings  required  to  house  the  machinery  necessary, 
in  conducting  the  business  of  the  mine. 

The  question  of  wood  for  fuel  is  in  some  districts 
an  important  one,  which  happily  has  been  in  a  measure 
solved  in  the  Black  Hills  in  recent  years  by  the  advent 
of  railroads,  connecting  the  mining  districts  with  the 
coal  fields  of  Wyoming,  enabling  the  mines  to  secure 
a  better  and  more  economical  fuel  than  that  afforded 
by  the  forest  wood. 

Another  important  factor  in  the  business  of  mining 
as  conducted  in  the  Black  Hills,  fully  as  essential  as 
timber,  is  an  ample  supply  of  water ;  for  if  this  is  in- 
sufficient, the  separation  of  the  values  from  the  mined 
ore  would  be  impossible  and  the  labor  and  expense 
of  mining  lost.  As  it  is  necessary,  owing  to  these  low 
grade  ores  that  the  stamp  mills  or  reduction  works  be 
placed  as  near  the  mine  as  possible,  large  sums  of 
money  have  been  expended  in  supplying  these  plants 
with  water  which  is  derived  from  mountain  streams, 
the  continuous  flow  of  which  is  dependent  upon  the 
preservation  and  maintenance  of  the  forest  conditions 
at  their  source ;  the  fact  being  now  unquestioned  that 
the  denudation  of  the  timber  and  forest  cover,  and  the 
removal  of  vegetation  at  the  supply  points  of  our 


Ame:rican  F'or^st  Congress  305 

mountain  streams,  seriously  check  their  flow  and  will 
in  time  cause  their  disappearance. 

"Before  these  fields  were  shorn  and  tilled, 
Full  to  the  brim  our  rivers  flowed. 
The  melody  of  waters  filled 

The  fresh  and  boundless  wood. 
And  torrents  dash'd  and  rivulets  played. 
And  fountains  spouted  in  the  shade." 

The  dearly  bought  lessons  of  the  East  should  be 
heeded  by  the  West. 

The  benefits  derived  by  the  stream  from  the  forest 
are  amply  repaid  by  the  increase  of  life-giving  moisture 
in  the  air  and  soil.  The  stream  is  also  a  friend  in  need 
to  the  forest  when  attacked  by  its  arch  enemy,  fire. 

It  follows,  then,  that  the  forest  and  stream  are  de- 
pendent each  upon  the  other  and  successful  mining 
upon  both.  The  dependency  of  the  mine  upon  the 
forest  having  been  established,  the  question  arises, 
What  is  the  best  plan  for  securing  a  permanent  supply 
of  the  necessary  timber  ?  My  reply  is :  intelligent  and 
practical  forestry  which  can  best  be  obtained  under 
forest  reservation  administered  with  business-like 
methods.  That  the  cutting  of  timber  upon  the  public 
domain  should  be  permitted  only  under  wise  legisla- 
tion is  a  self-evident  fact,  approved  of  by  every  one 
acquainted  with  the  subject.  When  no  restrictions 
were  placed  upon  it,  these  cuttings  have  nearly  all 
resulted  in  the  total  disappearance  of  the  forest.  To 
prevent  future  destruction,  forest  reserves  have  been 
established  and  to  them  should  be  given  the  same  man- 
agement that  a  prudent  merchant  accords  to  his  busi- 
ness. No  wise  merchant  would  hold  his  goods  until 
shopworn  and  old,  neither  would  he  dispose  of  all  of 
them  without  taking  the  necessary  steps  to  replenish 


3o6  Proce:e:dings  o^  thk 

his  stock.  Our  system  of  forest  reservation,  as  at 
present  conducted,  has  been  established  but  a  short 
time,  the  first  pubHc  timber  sale  under  it  having  been 
made  in  November,  1900.  Since  then  giant  strides 
have  been  made  in  protecting  the  forest  from  waste, 
depredation  and  fire,  and  the  pronounced  benefits 
arising  are  apparent  to  the  most  casual  observer.  At 
first,  the  plan  met  with  considerable  opposition,  prin- 
cipally because  it  was  not  understood,  but  as  the  policy 
developed,  the  people  began  to  realize  that  forest  reser- 
vation meant  a  saving  of  the  wicked  waste  so  marked 
in  all  former  logging  enterprises,  a  just  price  for  the 
timber  sold,  a  protection  of  the  forest  from  fire  and 
thieves,  a  conserving  of  the  streams,  a  preservation 
of  the  young  growth,  the  utilization  of  the  dead  tim- 
ber; in  fact,  that  it  meant  more  timber  for  their  use 
and  benefit.  Now  practically  all  opposition  to  forest 
reservation  has  disappeared  and  to-day  it  has  the  hearty 
good  will  and  support  of  every  honest  man  in  and 
about  the  reserve. 

The  present  system  could  be  improved  upon  by 
replanting  and  reforesting.  In  successful  forestry 
there  should  be  a  seed  time  as  well  as  a  harvest.  De- 
nuded areas  in  and  adjoining  the  reserves  suitable  to 
the  growing  of  timber  should  be  planted  with  trees 
adapted  to  climate  and  soil.  This,  with  a  practical 
administration  of  the  forest  reserves,  an  administra- 
tion beneficial  alike  to  the  forest  and  the  mine,  one 
that  takes  into  consideration  not  only  the  preservation 
and  propagation  of  the  timber,  but  the  necessities  of 
the  mine  as  well,  and  that  gives  to  the  latter  the  most 
liberal  treatment  compatible  with  the  permanency  of 
the  forest,  will  not,  in  my  opinion,  retard  the  develop- 
ment of  mining,  but,  on  the  contrary,  materially  assist 
it. 


IMPORTANCE  OF  THE  PUBLIC  FOREST 
LANDS  TO  MINING 

BY 

T.J.  GRIER 

Superintendent,  Homestake  Mining  Company 

I  THINK  our  President  made  a  mistake  when  he 
asked  me  to  address  the  array  of  talent  I  see 
before  me  here  today  upon  a  subject  of  such  far-reach- 
ing and  vital  importance  as  is  indicated  in  the  title  to 
this  paper,  and  I  am  sorry,  therefore,  that  he  did  not  go 
farther  and  secure  for  your  entertainment  someone 
better  able  to  give  the  sulDJect  the  careful  and  exhaus- 
tive review  it  deserves. 

Responsive  to  the  query  suggested  by  the  title,  per- 
mit me  to  suggest  that  "Forests  help  mining"  in  much 
the  same  general  way  that  they  help  all  other  industries 
which  require  forest  products.  The  forest  furnishes 
the  supply;  the  industries  make  the  demand.  The 
main  and  chief  products  of  the  forest  being  wood  and 
water,  I  fear  that  the  progress  of  very  many  of  our 
great  industries  would  not  be  rapid  if  they  were 
deprived  of  those  articles.  The  importance  to  the 
nation's  great  industries  of  the  forest  therefore  is  not 
questioned,  but  a  very  great  deal  of  interest  and  impor- 
tance is  centered  in  such  conservation  of  it  as  will 
enable  it  to  meet  the  great  and  growing  demand  of 
those  industries. 

The  question  of  tree  supply  and  demand  presents 
itself  for  that  solution  which  will  bring  about  an  ample 
and  increasing  supply  to  meet  an  ever-increasing 
demand  that  is  being  made  upon  it.     I  trust  that  the 


308  PROCKi^DINGS    OF    the: 

deliberations  of  this  Congress  may  point  the  way  to 
that  solution. 

Prodigal  in  the  use  of  our  woods,  and  forgetful  of 
the  resulting  damage  to  our  mountain  streams  and 
springs,  perhaps  we  have  too  long  neglected  the  care 
of  our  forests ;  or  does  our  rapid  progress  in  the  devel- 
opment of  the  manifold  resources  of  this  country, 
which  calls  for  generous  quantities  of  forest  products, 
merely  lead  us  to  imagine  that  such  is  the  case?  I 
incline  to  the  former  belief,  and  I  think  that  a  visit  to 
the  denuded  areas  within  regions  once  forested,  and 
to  the  dry  places  where  springs  of  clear  water  once 
flowed,  will  bear  me  out.  If  this  is  true,  we  must 
meet  the  demands  of  such  rapid  progress,  or  a  halt 
must  be  called. 

I  do  not  believe  that  the  American  people  are  built 
upon  lines  that  would  make  palatable  the  calling  of  a 
halt  in  their  onward  march,  but  that,  the  necessity 
being  made  apparent  to  them,  they  will  rise  to  the 
occasion  as  one  man,  and  with  all  of  the  energy  with 
which  they  are  by  nature  endowed  quickly  set  about 
correcting  the  sins  of  omission  of  which  they  have 
heretofore  been  guilty. 

Fresh  from  the  southwestern  corner  of  South 
Dakota,  the  former  home  of  the  Sioux  Indians,  who 
once  thought,  and  perhaps  yet  think,  that  in  defending 
their  forest  home  death  in  tribal  warfare  was  an  honor 
rather  than  a  calamity,  and  where  I  have  resided  for 
over  a  quarter  of  a  century,  I  have  noted  with  much 
concern  the  slow  but  sure  dwindling  of  the  forest. 
Although  the  extensive  operations  in  that  region  of 
the  great  mining  industry  with  which  I  have  been 
connected  have  during  that  period  been  conducted,  and 
are  still  being  pursued,  with  the  view  of  conserving 
the  forest,  the  dwindling  of  the  forest  area  still  goes 


Ame:rican  Fore:st  Congre:ss  309 

on.  In  the  pursuit  of  this  poHcy  of  forest  conservation 
it  is  only  right  to  say  that  the  forest  has  been  the 
gainer,  while  the  mining  company  has  been  the  loser. 
The  company  I  have  the  honor  to  represent,  in  using 
wood  as  fuel  instead  of  coal,  does  so  at  a  material  loss, 
because  the  only  wood  used  for  fuel  in  the  Black  Hills 
is  the  dead,  down  and  insect-infested  trees  which  the 
departmental  regulations  very  properly  insist  shall  be 
removed  from  the  forest.  Such  very  inferior  material 
costs  the  mining  industry  and  all  other  industries  using 
it  approximately  loo  per  cent  more  than  coal  for  either 
heating  or  steam-making  purposes.  If  a  suggestion  in 
this  connection  is  pertinent,  I  desire  to  say  that  the 
Government  should  give  such  material  for  the  taking, 
so  that  the  consumers  of  forest  products  who  can  and 
are  willing  to  conserve  the  best  interests  of  the  forests 
by  taking  the  inferior  stuff  should  not  be  compelled, 
through  having  to  pay  for  it,  to  bear  an  excessive  share 
of  the  burden  of  cost  of  forest  conservation.  The 
Government  enjoys  excessive  gain  in  having  such 
refuse  removed  through  promoting,  in  a  material 
degree,  the  health  and  thrift  of  its  green  trees  that 
remain.  I  think  that  should  satisfy  it.  Its  gain,  how- 
ever, does  not  stop  there,  because  the  removal  of  this 
debris  practically  eliminates  all  danger  of  loss  or  dam- 
age to  the  green  trees  from  forest  fires.  Trees  breathe, 
digest  their  food,  live,  thrive,  sigh,  and  die  much  as 
we  of  the  higher  order  of  animals  do ;  therefore,  if  the 
fittest  are  to  survive  and  thrive,  the  conditions  around 
them  must  be  favorable  and  the  elements  of  danger 
must  be  removed.  I  think  the  forest  supervisors  and 
rangers,  and  the  scientists  from  the  Entomological 
Division  and  the  Forest  Bureau  who  have  made  so 
careful  a  study  of  this  subject  and  these  conditions 
will  second  this  suggestion. 


3IO  Proce:edings  of  thk 

Forests  are  important  to  mining,  and  benefits  accrue 
to  mining  from  forests;  but  it  is  not  sufficient  to  say 
so  and  there  stop.  The  forests  are  an  absolute  neces- 
sity to  the  mines.  Nor  is  it  true  to  say  that  the  timber 
produced  by  the  forests  is  the  only  benefit  accruing 
from  them.  Conservation  of  water  by  a  thrifty  growth 
of  trees  is  to  the  credit  of  the  forest,  while  alike  impor- 
tant and  necessary  to  the  mineral  industry,  and  when 
that  water  is  thus  conserved  it  becomes  invaluable  as 
it  flows  upon  such  agricultural  areas  as  may  be  adja- 
cent to  the  mineral  lands.  I  say  adjacent,  but  I  do  not 
mean  within  the  exterior  boundaries  of  the  mineral 
zone,  because  I  do  not  believe  that  the  narrow  strips 
of  soil  oftentimes  found  alongside  of  mountain  streams 
which  have  cut  through  ledges  of  metal-bearing  rocks 
and  which  consist  largely  of  the  erosion  of  those  rocks 
constitute  agricultural  areas  entitled  to  consideration 
or  rights  equal  in  any  degree  with  the  rights  of  the 
mines.  And  I  think  any  legislation  looking  to  the 
giving  of  grants  to  such  so-called  agricultural  areas  a 
hindrance  and  stumbling  block  in  the  way  of  progres- 
sive and  successful  mineral  development. 

Not  many,  perhaps,  fully  appreciate  the  enormous 
quantity  of  timber  needed  in  and  about  a  great  mine  in 
order  to  carry  on  its  operations  and  protect  the  lives 
of  its  operatives.  The  hoisting  works,  metallurgical, 
and  other  buildings  on  the  surface  which  are  always 
in  sight  perhaps  render  the  casual  observer  unmindful 
of  the  fact  that  further  supplies  of  the  forest  product 
are  required  with  every  foot  of  progress  made  in  pene- 
trating underground.  As  the  miner's  work  of  taking 
out  the  ore  advances,  he  surrounds  himself  with  a 
framework  of  timber  which  is  intended  to  hold  in  place 
the  sides  and  roof  of  his  excavation.  Wherever  it  is 
possible  to  hold  in  place  these  sides  and  roofs  with 


Ame:rican  Fore:st  Congress  311 

waste  rock  instead  of  timber  it  is  done ;  so  that  there 
need  be  no  di^asion  of  opinion  as  to  the  willingness  of 
the  miner  to  adopt  such  practice  whenever  it  can  be 
done.  The  better  protection  of  his  property  from 
disastrous  caves  suggests  it;  the  protection  of  his 
operatives  makes  it  imperative;  it  is  cheaper. 

It  is  true  that  a  substitution  of  metal  for  wood  in 
certain  permanent  improvements  about  the  works  of 
some  of  our  great  mines  has  been  made,  and  it  is 
probable  that  wood  will  continue  to  give  way  to  iron, 
steel,  and  possibly  other  non-combustible  materials  in 
limited  extent.  At  the  every-day  task  of  mining  ore 
and  developing  underground,  however,  I  do  not  antici- 
pate any  such  substitution,  nor  do  I  think  that  the 
importance  of  the  public  forest  lands  to  mining  will 
be  lessened  by  the  change  in  practice  in  making  such 
permanent  improvements,  because  of  the  small  ratio 
the  consumption  by  such  improvements  bears  to  the 
whole. 

I  am  not  familiar  with  all  of  the  conditions  that  now 
surround  the  several  areas  in  the  United  States  which 
constitute  its  forest  reserves,  or  that  surrounded  those 
areas  when  the  reserves  were  created,  but  I  have  inti- 
mate knowledge  of  the  conditions  which  prevailed  and 
surrounded  the  home  of  the  Sioux  Indian  up  to  the 
spring  of  1877.  Inasmuch  as  Article  II  of  the  By-laws 
of  this  Association  suggests,  as  one  of  the  objects  of 
its  being,  the  advancement  of  such  legislative  measures 
as  the  Association  thinks  may  tend  to  promote  the 
general  welfare  of  forests,  I  am  persuaded  to  call  the 
attention  of  this  Congress  to  the  importance  of  consid- 
ering well  such  local  conditions  as  may  be  found  at 
each  and  every  reserve  before  advancing  general  legis- 
lation, the  operation  of  which  would  affect  all  of  the 
reserves   alike.      I    further   desire   to   submit   to   the 


312  Proceedings  o^  the 

attention  of  the  Association  the  fact  that  there  are 
certain  conditions  in  and  about  the  Black  Hills  Reserve 
which  should  not  be  forgotten  when  suggesting  laws, 
rules,  and  regulations  for  its  government.  In  the  first 
place,  it  will  be  remembered  that  the  Black  Hills 
Reserve  was  the  home  of  the  Sioux  Indian  until  1877, 
and  that  the  Government,  having  satisfied  itself  that 
there  was  within  the  exterior  boundaries  of  that  home 
a  valuable  mineral  kingdom,  arranged  for  the  red  man 
to  vacate  the  premises.  Announcement  of  the  new 
find  was  then  made  to  the  world,  the  area  was  platted 
on  the  Government  maps  as  a  mineral  zone,  and  the 
miner  was  invited  to  enter,  explore,  and  develop  the 
zone.  The  miner  came  upon  this  invitation,  has  been 
diligent  ever  since,  and  has  invested  millions  of  dollars 
in  exploration,  development,  and  improvements,  rely- 
ing in  the  prosecution  of  his  work  upon  having  the  full 
benefit  of  all  of  the  natural  resources  of  the  country, 
and  without  which  his  work  cannot  continue  success- 
fully. I  therefore  submit  to  this  Congress  that  it  will 
be  manifestly  unfair  to  advance  any  legislation  having 
for  its  effect  the  depriving  of  the  Black  Hills  miner 
of  those  natural  resources  in  any  degree. 

Touching  another  subject,  suggested  in  Article  II 
of  its  By-laws  as  justification  for  the  being  of  this 
Association — the  advancement  of  educational  measures 
tending  to  promote  forest  welfare — I  think  that  we 
may  confidently  rely  upon  that  department  of  the 
Association  which  will  have  in  hand  the  dissemination 
of  knowledge  relating  to  forest  welfare  to  do  its  duty. 

Fully  realizing  that  the  benefit  of  the  forest  to 
mining  is  of  such  importance  that  it  can  only  be 
appraised  by  giving  it  the  value  that  attaches  to  an 
absolute  necessity,  and  that  much  value  also  attaches 
to  the  forest  in  its  relation  to  the  other  great  industries 


American  Forest  Congress  3^3 

of  the  country  which,  combined  with  the  mineral  indus- 
try, go  far  towards  making  the  nation  the  great, 
glorious,  and  prosperous  whole  that  it  is,  I  cannot 
refrain  from  suggesting  at  this  time  that  the  custodian 
of  the  public  domain  and  its  natural  resources  should 
not  be  unmindful  of  the  immense  value  to  it  from  the 
operation  of  those  combined  industries. 

While  the  receipts  and  expenditures  of  all  industries 
except  mining  can  be  so  fixed  as  to  return  interest  on 
the  investment,  and  that  such  industries  have  practi- 
cally life  in  perpetuity,  it  is  not  so  in  the  mineral 
industry.  With  it  the  day  comes  when,  after  having 
given  to  the  country  their  treasures,  the  mines,  one  by 
one,  become  exhausted,  and  their  costly  improvements 
are  allowed  to  decay.  Is  it  asking  too  much,  then, 
that  the  mineral  industry  be  most  considerately  treated 
by  this  Government?  If  not,  most  liberal  should  the 
consideration  be  that  is  given  to  the  precious  metal 
mines  which  furnish  the  foundation  of  the  nation's 
credit,  and  which  saved  that  credit  from  annihilation 
after  the  civil  war. 

I  become  more  and  more  impressed  with  the  neces- 
sity of  tree  planting  to  insure  forest  perpetuation  and 
enlargement,  and  to  insure  the  maintenance  of  stream- 
flow,  and  I  am  amazed  at  the  indifference  upon  the 
subject  so  long  displayed  by  a  people  otherwise  so 
mindful.  Dwelling  upon  the  subject  for  a  moment,  I 
next  wonder  how  the  tree  planting  can  be  most  success- 
fully and  economically  accomplished,  when  something 
says  to  me  it  can  be  done  by  the  forest  rangers.  I 
submit  the  thought  for  your  consideration. 

Will  you  bear  with  me  a  moment  longer,  Mr.  Presi- 
dent, and  gentlemen  of  the  Congress,  while  I  call 
attention  to  a  condition  obtaining  in  and  about  all  of 
the  forest  reserves  of  the  United  States,  and  which 


314  Proce:edings  o^  the 

looks  to  me  to  be  very  unfair  to  a  few  of  the  great 
industries  operating  about  and  within  those  reserves. 
Under  the  presidential  pioclamations  creating  the 
reserves,  and  under  the  laws  as  they  now  exist,  it  is 
not  possible  for  any  industry — railroads  and  irrigating 
companies  excepted — to  be  made  secure  in  the  posses- 
sion of  a  right  of  way  extending  through  a  forest 
reserve.  Is  that  fair?  Is  there  any  reason  why  a 
great  mine,  after  spending  a  large  sum  of  money  in 
constructing  a  waterway  through  a  reserve  for  the 
purpose  of  bringing  a  supply  of  water  to  its  works 
and  to  the  people  manning  those  works,  should  not  be 
able  to  get  as  good  title  or  right  of  way  for  such 
conduit  as  is  given  to  the  irrigating  company  or  to  the 
railroad  company  that  builds  a  line  through  the  same 
reserve  in  order  to  haul  other  kinds  of  supplies  to  the 
same  works  and  to  the  same  people  operating  the 
works  ? 

Under  the  laws  and  proclamations  creating  the  Black 
Hills  forest  reserve  the  miner  is  protected  in  the  pos- 
session of  such  mining  locations  as  he  possessed  at  the 
time  of  the  creation  of  the  reserve.  Further  than  that, 
he  is  permitted  to  make  new  and  additional  locations. 
Both  these  provisions  are  just.  They  are,  however, 
inadequate.  They  stop  short  of  giving  that  protection 
to  which  the  mining  industry  in  the  Hills  is  justly 
entitled.  The  absolute  necessity  of  water  for  the  devel- 
opment of  the  mining  claim  is  universally  conceded. 
The  United  States  Government  recognized  this  neces- 
sity. It  has  thus  far  failed,  however,  to  make  adequate 
provision  to  enable  the  miner  to  secure  himself  in  the 
possession  of  this  necessity.  Since  1866,  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  United  States  has  granted  to  the  miner  the 
right  to  construct  upon  its  public  lands  ditches  and 
flumes  to  conduct  the  waters  of  the  streams  required 


American  Forest  Congress  315 

in  legitimate  mining  operations.  It  has  in  effect 
granted  rights  of  way  across  such  public  lands  for 
such  ditches.  It  has  provided  that  all  patents  issued 
shall  be  subject  to  such  ditches  and  rights  of  way. 
This  eminently  just  and  wise  policy  seems  to  have 
been  suddenly  abandoned  in  regard  to  those  lands 
comprised  within  forest  reserves.  Since  the  creation 
of  these  resertes  there  has  been,  so  far  as  I  am  advised, 
no  provision  made  by  which  the  miner  can  secure  the 
grant  of  a  right  of  way  for  his  ditches  and  flumes, 
without  which  his  property  may  be  utterly  valueless. 

It  is  true  that  the  act  of  February  15,  1901,  entitled 
''An  Act  Relating  to  Rights  of  Way  Through  Certain 
Parks,  Reservations,  and  Other  Public  Lands,"  does 
provide  that  the  Honorable  Secretary  of  the  Interior 
may  permit  the  use  of  rights  of  way  through  the  forest 
reservations  for  ditches  and  flumes  used  in  connection 
with  mining  and  other  operations.  But  the  authority 
conferred  upon  the  Honorable  Secretary  is  so  emascu- 
lated by  the  concluding  provision  of  this  act  as  to  leave 
him  in  effect  no  authority  to  grant  any  substantial 
right,  but  unlimited  power  to  revoke  the  favors  already 
conferred.  That  proviso  reads  as  follows:  'And 
provided  further  that  any  permission  given  by  the 
Secretary  of  the  Interior  under  the  provisions  of  this 
Act  may  be  revoked  by  him  or  his  successor  in  his 
discretion,  and  shall  not  be  held  to  confer  any  right 
or  easement  or  interest  in,  to,  or  over  any  public  land, 
reservation  or  park." 

I  particularly  call  your  attention  to  Regulations  No. 
2  and  No.  1 1  promulgated  by  the  Honorable  Secretary 
under  this  act.      (Circular  July  8,  1901). 

No.  2  reads  as  follows :  "It  is  to  be  specially  noted 
that  this  act  does  not  make  a  grant  in  the  nature  of 
an  easement,  but  authorizes  a  mere  permission  in  the 
nature  of  a  license,  revocable  at  any  time." 


3i6  Proceedings  oi^  the 

No.  II  reads  as  follows:  "Upon  receipt  of  applica- 
tions for  right  of  way  by  the  General  Land  Office,  the 
same  will  be  examined  and  then  submitted  to  the 
Secretary  of  the  Interior  with  recommendation  as  to 
their  approval.  Permission  to  use  rights  of  way 
through  a  reservation  or  any  park  designated  in  the 
act  will  only  be  granted  upon  approval  of  the  chief 
officer  of  the  department  under  whose  supervision 
such  park  or  reservation  falls  and  upon  finding  by 
him  that  the  same  is  not  incompatible  with  the  public 
interest.  If  the  application  and  the  showing  rnade  in 
support  thereof  is  satisfactory,  the  Secretary  of  the 
Interior  will  give  the  required  permission  in  such  form 
as  may  be  deemed  proper,  according  to  the  features 
of  each  case;  and  it  is  to  be  expressly  understood,  in 
accordance  with  the  final  proviso  of  the  act,  that  any 
permission  given  thereunder  may  be  modified  or 
revoked  by  the  Secretary  or  his  successor,  in  his  discre- 
tion, at  any  time,  and  shall  not  be  held  to  confer  any 
right,  easement,  or  interest  in,  to  or  over  any  public 
land,  reservation  or  park.  The  final  disposal  by  the 
United  States  of  any  tract  traversed  by  the  permitted 
right  of  way  is  of  itself  without  further  act  on  the  part 
of  the  department  a  revocation  of  the  permission  so 
far  as  it  affects  that  tract,  and  any  permission  granted 
hereunder  is  also, subject  to  such  further  and  future 
regulations  as  may  be  adopted  by  the  Department." 

In  short,  gentlemen,  the  miner  who,  at  a  cost  of 
thousands,  nay  hundreds  of  thousands  of  dollars,  has 
constructed  his  ditches  across  the  public  lands  of  the 
reservation  in  order  to  make  profitable  a  mining  prop- 
erty otherwise  idle  and  worthless,  holds  his  investment 
of  dollars  and  brains  subject  not  only  to  the  changing 
policy,  to  say  naught  of  the  whims  and  caprices,  of  an 
administrative  officer  of  the  Government,  but,  what  is 


American  Forest  Congress  317 

a  far  more  serious  danger,  subject  to  the  blackmailing 
schemes  of  the  mine  adventurer  who,  by  obtaining  a 
patent  for  one  mining  claim  across  which  the  ditch  is 
constructed,  has  the  absolute  power  of  obstructing  the 
operation  of  the  ditch  and  thus  of  the  mine. 

Certainly,  such  results  could  not  have  been  foreseen 
by  our  law-makers.  But  they  are  not  only  probable; 
they  are  inevitable.  There  is  a  remedy — simple, 
speedy,  just — and  that  is  a  law  promptly  giving  to  the 
miner  the  same  rights  given  to  railroad  corporations 
and  irrigating  ditches;  at  least,  a  law  by  which  the 
miner  in  a  reserve  is  protected  to  the  same  extent  that 
he  is  protected  upon  public  lands  not  within  a  reserve. 
The  law,  as  it  stands,  puts  a  premium  upon  the  dis- 
honesty of  the  nomadic  mining  adventurer.  It  offers 
no  protection  whatever  to  the  bona  fide  miner.  It 
should  be  promptly  amended. 

For  the  respectful  attention  given  to  a  few  thoughts 
of  a  brand-new  member  of  your  Association,  hurriedly 
incorporated  into  a  so-called  paper,  I  thank  you, 
gentlemen,  most  heartily. 


MINING  IN  THE  FOREST  RESERVES. 

BY 
MAJOR  F.  A.  FENN 

Supervisor  of  Forest  Reserves  in  Idaho  and  Montana 

I  N  many  of  the  Western  States  where  forest  reserves 
have  been  estabhshed,  mining  holds  the  foremost 
place  among  our  industries.  With  coal  mining  we 
have  little  to  do;  hence,  in  the  remarks  that  I  shall 
make,  the  term  mining  will  be  confined  to  metalliferous 
mining.  No  other  industry  is  more  directly  and  inti- 
mately connected  with  the  administration  of  forest 
reserves  than  mining.  The  preservation  of  timber  and 
the  conservation  of  the  water  supply — the  two  great 
purposes  of  the  forester — are  exactly  suited  to  meet 
the  demands  of  the  two  chief  branches  of  the  mining 
industry,  lode  mining  and  placer  mining.  The  lode 
miner  must  have  timber  for  his  underground  workings ; 
and  without  water,  the  placer  miner  is  helpless.  The 
Government  has  ever  guarded  the  miner's  interests 
most  carefully.  Every  inducement  has  been  given 
the  prospector,  and  the  development  of  the  mineral 
resources  of  the  country  has  been  encouraged  and 
stimulated.  Consistently  with  its  steadfast  policy. 
Congress  took  pains  to  see  that  the  law  authorizing 
and  setting  apart  portions  of  the  public  domain  as 
forest  reserves  should  contain  nothing  of  detriment 
to  the  mining  industry.  The  act  of  June  4,  1897  (com- 
monly called  the  Forest  Reserve  Law),  among  other 
things  provides  as  follows: 

"It  is  not  the  purpose  or  intent  of  these  provisions, 
or  of  the  act  providing  for  such  reservations,  to  author- 


American  Forest  Congress  319 

ize  the  inclusion  therein  of  lands  more  valuable  for 
the  minerals  therein,  than  for  forest  purposes." 

And  further:  "Nor  shall  anything  herein  prohibit 
any  person  from  entering  upon  such  forest  reservation 
for  all  proper  and  lawful  purposes,  including  that  of 
prospecting,  locating,  and  developing  the  mineral  re- 
sources thereof:  Provided,  That  such  persons  comply 
with  the  rules  and  regulations  covering  such  forest 
reservations." 

And  further  still:  "And  any  mineral  lands  in  any 
forest  reservation  which  have  been  or  which  may  be 
shown  to  be  such,  and  subject  to  entry  under  the  exist- 
ing mining  laws  of  the  United  States  and  the  rules  and 
regulations  applying  thereto,  shall  continue  to  be  sub- 
ject to  such  location  and  entry,  notwithstanding  any 
provisions  herein  contained." 

While  the  act  contains  the  above-quoted  provisions, 
it  also  outlines  a  plan  for  the  preservation  of  the  forests 
within  the  reserves  and  gives  to  the  Secretary  of  the 
Interior  power  to  elaborate  the  system  and  make  it 
effective,  by  authorizing  him  to  "make  such  rules  and 
regulations  and  establish  service  as  will  insure  the 
objects  of  such  reservations,  namely,  to  regulate  their 
occupancy  and  use  and  to  preserve  the  forests  thereon 
from  destruction." 

Realizing  the  vital  importance  of  the  mining  industry 
to  the  national  prosperity,  and  at  the  same  time  appre- 
ciating the  necessity  of  protecting  the  forests  for  the 
benefit  of  the  people,  the  law-makers  devised  a  scheme 
of  forest  protection  that  enables  forest  reserves  to  be 
maintained  and  the  mining  industry  to  be  carried  on 
simultaneously  in  the  same  territory,  not  only  without 
conflict  or  friction,  but  in  such  manner  that  scientific 
forest  methods  may  be  applied  in  fullest  measure,  while 
the  best  interests  of  the  bona  fide  miner  are  subserved 
and  promoted. 


320  Proce^edings  01^  THE 

Under  the  same  law,  the  authority  given  the  Secre- 
tary of  the  Interior  to  prescribe  rules  and  regulations 
to  effectuate  the  system  outlined  in  the  law,  provided 
the  means  whereby  the  details  of  the  reserve  policy 
might  be  worked  out  and  adapted  to  the  conditions  of 
the  mining  industry  as  they  should  be  encountered  in 
the  different  localities  where  mining  interests  and  forest 
methods  might  come  in  contact.  The  scheme  devised 
enables  every  miner  to  secure  from  forest  reserves  in 
the  State  in  which  his  mines  are  situated  whatever  tim- 
ber is  necessary  to  the  prosecution  of  his  enterprise. 

Prior  to  the  enactment  of  this  law,  a  different  condi- 
tion prevailed.  Before  the  act  of  June  4,  1897,  was 
passed,  almost  the  only  way  for  the  miner  to  obtain 
timber  from  the  public  lands  legitimately  was  under 
the  act  of  1878,  which  allowed  the  cutting  and  removal 
of  timber  from  public  mineral  lands  for  mining  and 
other  specified  uses.  This  act  placed  miners  in  an 
embarrassing  position.  Under  the  general  laws,  and 
according  to  the  policy  of  the  Department  of  the  Inte- 
rior, the  public  lands  are  presumed  to  be  non-mineral, 
and  held  to  be  such  until  the  contrary  is  shown ;  hence, 
to  justify  the  cutting  and  removal  of  timber  from  a 
given  tract,  under  the  provisions  of  the  act  of  1878  it  is 
incumbent  upon  miners  to  be  in  position  to  show  that 
the  land  involved  is  mineral  in  character.  This  neces- 
sitates the  discovery  of  mineral ;  for  ordinarily  the  fact 
that  some  mines  are  known  to  exist  in  a  certain  region 
does  not  establish  the  mineral  character  of  the  whole 
territory  included.  To  demonstrate  by  prospecting 
or  otherwise  that  a  particular  tract  from  which  it  is 
proposed  to  cut  timber  is  mineral  lands,  is  to  invite  the 
location  of  it  by  others  as  mining  ground,  and  thereby 
defeat  the  very  purpose  of  the  person  needing  the  tim- 
ber; for,  under  the  mining  laws,  the  locator  has  the 


American  Forest  Congress  321 

right  of  possession,  and  is  entitled  to  the  exclusive 
enjoyment  of  the  surface  of  the  ground  located.  The 
consequence  has  been  that  no  effort  to  determine  the 
real  character  of  the  land  was  made,  the  needy  miner 
preferring  to  take  the  timber  on  land  separated  from 
his  claim  and  run  the  risk  of  being  brought  before  the 
court  for  cutting  and  removing  timber  from  public 
lands  illegitimately,  rather  than  to  place  the  timber 
beyond  his  own  reach  through  proving  the  tract  to  be 
mineral  in  character,  and  assure  its  subsequent  location 
by  interested  parties,  who  would  surely  take  advantage 
of  the  showing  made,  to  their  benefit  and  to  his  injury. 
It  may  be  suggested  that  the  person  desiring  the 
timber  might  himself  locate  and  secure  control  of  both 
timber  and  land ;  but  the  reply  is  that  the  law  as  con- 
strued requires  that  the  timber  cut  from  a  given  claim 
must  be  used  on  that  claim,  or  on  a  group  of  which  that 
claim  forms  a  part,  and  cannot  be  removed  for  use  on 
a  different  claim.  This  most  annoying  complication 
has  been  fully  appreciated  by  the  Government  and  by 
courts,  and  the  result  has  been  that  really  very  little 
regard  has  been  paid  to  the  character  of  the  land  from 
which  timber  was  cut  for  mining  purposes.  The  con- 
dition precedent  to  justify  the  cutting  was  practically 
neglected,  and  it  was  deemed  sufficient  that  the  timber 
taken  was  devoted  to  a  use  contemplated  in  the  law. 
The  necessities  of  the  miners,  and  the  peculiar  provis- 
ions referred  to,  combined  to  make  the  majority  of  the 
miners  of  the  Northwest  law-breakers.  In  fact,  few 
miners  knew  the  exact  requirements  of  the  law.  It 
was  commonly  understood  that  whatever  forest  pro- 
ducts might  be  needed  could  be  taken  anywhere  any 
at  any  time.  This  erroneous  view  often  resulted  in 
prosecutions,  which  usually  terminated  in  acquittals 
that  have  brought  discredit  upon  the  administration 


322  Proceedings  o^  the 

of  justice  in  the  far  West.  Now,  happily,  this  deplor- 
able condition  of  affairs  is  obviated  through  the  passage 
of  the  Forest  Reserve  Law,  and  the  bona  fide  miner 
is  given  opportunity  to  secure  timber  in  a  legitimate 
manner  from  the  public  lands. 

This  one  point  alone,  gained  through  the  develop- 
ment of  American  forestry,  should  commend  the  sys- 
tem to  every  person  truly  interested  in  the  continued 
prosperity  of  the  mining  industry.  Still,  the  difficulties 
mentioned  might  have  been  overcome  by  direct  legisla- 
tion, and  the  vital  matter  of  forest  preservation  left 
untouched. 

Every  successful  lode  mine  is  a  consumer  of  enor- 
mous quantities  of  forest  products.  Such  properties 
as  the  Homestake  mine  in  South  Dakota,  the  great 
copper  mines  of  Butte  and  Anaconda  in  Montana,  or 
the  lead-silver  producers  of  the  Coeur  d'Alenes  in 
Idaho,  require  almost  incredible  amounts  of  timber 
for  their  operation.  While  commonly  there  is  natu- 
rally a  fair  supply  of  timber  in  the  mountainous  regions 
where  such  mines  are  found,  it  is  far  from  inexhausti- 
ble. The  first  impulse  of  the  miner  in  the  hurry  and 
scurry  of  the  newly  discovered  mining  region  is  to 
cut  and  slash  indiscriminately.  He  takes  a  tree  here, 
another  there,  as  his  immediate  needs  may  suggest. 
He  gives  no  thought  to  the  refuse  from  his  cutting. 
He  is  heedless  of  the  damage  that  may  be  done  to  the 
remaining  timber,  and  he  is  utterly  extravagant  in  the 
use  of  that  which  costs  him  nothing,  and  which  there 
is  no  one  to  claim  or  protect. 

What  might  be  expected,  ensues.  Fires  start  in  the 
cut-over  tracts,  spreads  through  the  accumulated  debris 
to  the  adjacent  forests;  and  the  country  for  miles 
around  is  devastated.  Recurring  fires  continue  the 
destruction,  and  in  a  relatively  few  years  the  mining 


American  Forest  Congress  323 

camp  is  surrounded  by  denuded  hills,  and  the  miners 
are  face  to  face  with  the  timber  famine,  the  penalty 
of  their  own  thoughtless  extravagance  and  careless- 
ness. 

Another  cause  of  destruction  is  the  wanton  burning 
of  forest  cover  where  brush  and  other  material  impede 
the  hasty  work  of  the  prospector.  Too  often  it  occurs 
that  the  prospector,  his  imagination  fired  by  finding  a 
rich  piece  of  float,  without  thought  of  the  injury  he 
may  do  to  others  or  even  to  himself,  deliberately  sets 
fire  to  the  forest  to  clear  the  ground  and  facilitate  his 
operations.  Not  only  is  immeasurable  damage  done 
to  the  mining  industry  at  large  by  such  criminal  prac- 
tices, but  the  fire-bug  is  likely  to  render  the  mine,  if 
he  discover  one,  wholly  valueless,  because  of  the  de- 
struction of  timber  on  which  successful  operation  of 
the  property  may  depend. 

It  is  useless  to  cite  examples  to  illustrate  what  has 
been  said  concerning  the  destruction  of  timber  in  the 
vicinity  of  mining  camps  by  prospectors.  The  expe- 
rience of  any  practical  miner  is  sufficient  to  prove  the 
correctness  of  what  is  stated. 

The  preservation  of  the  forests  in  a  State  of  highest 
continued  production  involves  the  economic  use  of 
timber,  encouragement  and  stimulation  of  reproduc- 
tion, and  protection  from  fire  and  spoliation. 

It  frequently  happens  that  mining  properties  are 
found  at  altitudes  where  the  better  grades  of  timber 
cannot  grow.  Such  species  as  are  adapted  to  these 
high  elevations  rarely  attain  dimensions  suitable  for 
ordinary  commercial  purposes;  and  again,  too,  the 
stand  is  limited,  so  that  he  who  appreciates  the  situa- 
tion must  realize  the  vital  necessity  of  husbanding  the 
available  supply.  In  spite  of  these  conditions,  how- 
ever, miners,  particularly  in  the  boom  days  of  any 


324  Proceedings  oe  the 

mining  camp,  are,  as  before  stated,  prone  to  extrava- 
gance in  the  use  of  timber  and  to  be  careless  in  their 
methods.  After  a  few  years  of  such  work,  the  in- 
creasing cost  of  forest  products  and  the  rapid  diminu- 
tion of  the  supply  arouse  consumers  to  their  early 
folly,  and  stir  them  to  an  appreciation  of  conservative 
forest  methods  and  to  the  importance  of  enforcing 
them. 

But  at  this  stage,  proper  protection  of  the  young 
growth  is  most  difficult.  The  needs  of  the  consumers 
prompt  the  cutting  of  immature  trees  for  all  purposes 
where  such  timber  can  be  utilized ;  and  to  withhold  such 
material  is,  under  the  circumstances,  looked  upon  as 
a  hardship.  Large  areas  are  now  in  process  of  refor- 
estation around  many  mining  camps,  where  repeated 
fires,  following  in  the  wake  of  choppers,  have  cleared 
off  the  remnants  of  the  original  forest  and  also  de- 
stroyed one  or  more  second  crops  that  have  sprung  up. 
The  present  growth  is  frequently  sparse  in  conse- 
quence ;  but  it  is  usually  largely  composed  of  lodgepole 
pine,  a  variety  of  timber  fortunately  well  suited  to 
many  of  the  miner's  purposes  when  it  is  mature,  but 
not  calculated  for  any  other  use  than  lagging  when  in 
the  sapling  stage.  This  timber,  too,  is  largely  a  pre- 
paratory crop,  which  nature  provides  to  fit  ares 
that  have  been  devastated  by  fires  for  the  growth  of 
other  and  more  valuable  varieties  of  timber.  This  is 
a  critical  time  in  the  process  of  reforestation,  and  it 
occurs  just  when  the  miner  is  experiencing  the  first 
pinch  of  timber  famine,  and  he  looks  with  longing  upon 
the  growing  trees  that  might  be  employed  as  a  make- 
shift to  tide  over  present  difficulties ;  hence,  the 
apparent  hardship.  A  comprehensive  view  of  the 
situation  will  convince  him  that  the  ultimate  good  of 
the  industry  he  represents  will  be  advanced  by  prac- 


Ame:rican  Forkst  Congress  325 

ticing  the  most  rigid  economy  in  the  use  of  this 
immature  timber  and  by  husbanding  it  and  stimulating 
its  growth  to  insure  a  later  abundant  supply. 

Right  here  I  would  call  attention  to  the  possible 
shortage  of  timber  in  certain  reserves  where  the  de- 
mands of  miners  may  be  most  urgent.  I  have  in  mind 
the  Black  Hills  Forest  Reserve,  in  South  Dakota. 
Vast  mining  interests  are  at  stake  there;  at  present 
there  is  an  apparently  sufficient  supply  of  timber  in 
the  reserve  to  satisfy  the  needs  of  the  mines,  but  the 
appearances  are  deceptive.  The  forests  are  badly  in- 
fested, the  pine  beetle  is  doing  his  deadly  work;  and 
unless  the  ravages  of  the  insect  be  stopped,  the  present 
forests  of  that  reserve  within  a  relatively  short  time 
will  have  been  destroyed.  Investigations  made  by 
competent  forestry  officials  have  proven  that  a  remedy 
for  the  evil  exists.  The  infested  timber  must  be 
promptly  cut  down  and  the  breeding  places  of  the 
beetle  sought  out  and  the  insects  exposed  to  the  ele- 
ments and  killed.  This  heroic  treatment  fills  the  minds 
of  Black  Hills  miners  with  apprehension.  They 
therefore  object  to  it;  they  fear  that  if  this  now  in- 
fected timber  be  all  cut  and  removed  they  will  be  left 
without  any  available  timber.  Such  a  result  would 
indeed  be  disastrous ;  but  by  opposing  the  cutting  and 
removal  of  the  timber  beyond  the  present  needs  of  the 
consumers,  the  evil  will  not  be  eradicated ;  further  de- 
struction is  a  certainty  so  long  as  the  insects  are 
allowed  to  harbor  and  propagate  there.  By  thus  pro- 
crastinating, the  suffering  miners  but  increase  their 
difficulties ;  and  if  things  be  allowed  to  drift  along  as 
they  are  now  going,  not  only  will  all  the  timber,  young 
as  well  as  old,  be  destroyed,  but  the  possibility  of  a 
future  crop  will  disappear.  Now  it  would  appear  that 
if  there  is  any  chance  for  a  supply  of  timber  for  present 


326  Procee:dings  o:p  the 

needs  from  the  public  lands  to  be  assured  for  use  in 
the  mines  in  the  Black  Hills,  the  wisest  course  would 
be  for  every  tree  in  the  affected  district  to  be  cut  and 
the  threatened  disaster  averted,  while  at  the  same  time 
the  present  young  growth  could  be  given  an  oppor- 
tunity to  develop  and  become  valuable,  free  from  the 
blighting  influence  of  the  now  tireless  pest.  Such  a 
cutting  would  result  in  throwing  a  vast  amount  of 
timber  on  the  market  at  once,  an  amount  far  beyond 
the  demands  of  the  day  in  that  immediate  vicinity. 
To  attempt  to  retain  it  until  the  local  market  could 
dispose  of  it,  would  be  to  allow  a  large  part  to  rot  on 
the  hands  of  the  Government.  Wastefulness  of  that 
character  would  be  criminal.  The  only  reasonable 
course  would  be  to  ship  the  stuff  to  other  points,  to 
other  States  probably  for  consumption.  The  law, 
however,  prevents  such  shipments ;  timber  cut  from 
public  lands  may  not  be  transported  outside  the  State 
in  which  it  is  cut.  Here  is  a  dilemma.  If  the  timber 
be  not  cut,  the  forests  will  be  irretrievably  ruined;  if 
it  be  cut,  it  must  be  either  burned  or  allowed  to  rot  on 
the  ground  instead  of  being  utilized  to  satisfy  the  wants 
of  people  in  other  States  which  nature  has  not  blessed 
with  timber  growth. 

If  the  timber  could  be  cut  from  public  lands  in  one 
State  and  shipped  to  other  States,  the  solution  of  the 
difficulty  would  be  easy.  The  insect-infested  timber 
could  be  cut  and  the  surplus  exported  to  other  locali- 
ties; and  then,  whenever  the  needs  of  the  miners 
of  the  Black  Hills  should  require  it,  the  forests  of 
Oregon,  Washington,  and  northern  Idaho,  where  there 
is  no  local  demand  at  all,  could  be  drawn  upon  for  an 
indefinite  time  and  until  the  young  growth  in  the  South 
Dakota  hills  should  be  again  adequate  to  the  necessities 
of  the  people  there. 


American  Forest  Congress  327 

The  present  law  on  this  point  should  be  changed. 
Instead  of  remaining  inflexible,  as  it  now  is,  positively 
prohibiting  the  exportation  of  timber  cut  from  public 
lands  from  one  State  to  another,  the  law  should  be 
so  modified  as  to  allow  the  department  in  charge  of 
the  forest  reserves  in  its  discretion  to  authorize  such 
exportation  when  the  interests  of  the  people  would  be 
subserved  and  the  forest  reserves  benefited  or  at  least 
not  injured  thereby. 

It  should  not  be  understood  that  the  present  legal 
difficulty  is  applicable  only  to  the  case  cited  above.  In 
many  of  the  great  forest  reserves  of  the  Northwest, 
where  there  are  hundreds  of  millions  of  feet  of  mature 
timber  which  is  deteriorating  in  value  every  day,  there 
is  no  local  demand ;  the  lumber  manufactured  in  Ore- 
gon, Washington,  and  northern  Idaho  is  practically  all 
shipped  to  markets  outside  those  States.  Because  of 
the  inhibiting  law  now  on  the  statute  books,  the  reserve 
timber  cannot  be  utilized.  It  must  remain  neither 
useful  nor  ornamental,  and  finally  die  and  rot  where 
it  grew ;  while  the  people  of  the  prairie  States  of  the 
Middle  West  appeal  in  vain  for  that  which  they  so 
much  need,  that  which  they  might  have  but  for  this 
absurd  provision  of  a  law  enacted  long  ago  to  meet 
conditions  that  no  longer  exist.  The  incongruity  of 
things  is  manifest. 

This  Congress  is  deliberating  here  for  the  purpose 
of  encouraging  and  making  practicable  an  American 
forestry  system,  a  system  national  in  its  scope ;  while 
the  law  referred  to  renders  impossible  the  application 
of  some  of  the  most  fundamental  principles  of  true 
forestry  by  circumscribing  vast  areas  of  available  ma- 
ture timber  by  the  impassable  barrier  of  a  State 
boundary  line. 

The   economical   use   cannot    subserve   the   miner's 


328  Proce:e:dings  of  the 

needs  unless  it  be  supplemented  by  adequate  protection 
against  fire;  and  here  is  where  an  intelligent  forest 
patrol  is  a  necessary  auxiliary  to  the  mining  industry. 
Protection  from  fire  makes  requisite  certain  precau- 
tions. Where  trees  are  felled  and  removed,  a  minimum 
of  the  debris  should  be  left  on  the  ground  to  serve  as 
a  conductor  of  the  flames,  and  all  of  it  should  be  so 
disposed  of  that  when  the  season  of  least  danger 
arrives,  the  refuse  may  be  burned  without  damage. 
These  outlines  indicate  the  importance  of  enforcing 
adequate  supervision  if  the  greatest  benefit  is  to  be 
derived  from  our  forests ;  but,  aside  from  any  theo- 
retical view  of  the  subject  of  forest  preservation,  there 
is  a  feature  of  the  forest  reserve  policy  which  often 
escapes  attention,  but  which  every  bona  fide  miner 
must  recognize  and  appreciate. 

I  refer  to  the  prevention  of  illegitimate  location  of 
timber  lands  as  mining  claims.  How  many  mining 
enterprises  of  great  promise  have  been  balked  by  such 
practices?  Every  experienced  lode  miner  knows  in- 
stances where  "stake  locators"  have  claimed  every  acre 
of  timber  land  within  miles  of  a  promising  discovery, 
for  no  other  purpose  than  to  compel  the  owner  of  the 
legitimate  mining  claim  to  purchase  a  fraudulent  one 
in  order  to  secure  the  timber  essential  to  the  operation 
of  his  property.  Many  of  these  nefarious  schemes 
have  been  defeated  through  the  efforts  of  forest  offi- 
cers, and  a  more  effective  method  of  dealing  with  such 
blackmailers  is  being  carefully  worked  out.  Illustra- 
tions are  not  wanting  to  show  that  where  opposition  to 
the  inclusion  of  certain  tracts  within  forest  reserves 
has  resulted  in  the  elimination  of  such  tracts,  and  the 
land  shark  relieved  from  the  vigilance  that  has  pre- 
vented the  carrying  out  of  his  plan,  he  at  once  makes 
application    for   patent   to   alleged   mineral   land   and 


Ame:rican  Forest  Congress  329 

promptly  secures  absolute  control  of  it.  These  specu- 
lative entries  place  the  legitimate  miner  at  the  mercy 
of  the  unscrupulous  holder  of  the  title.  One  or  two 
alternatives  the  miner  must  adopt:  either  to  sell  out 
and  practically  abandon  his  property,  or  else  to  pay  an 
exorbitant  price  for  the  timber  his  tormentor  controls. 
Usually  it  is  the  object  of  the  speculator  to  force  the 
former;  sometimes  the  latter  is  sufficient  to  satisfy 
his  greed.  In  either  case  rascality  triumphs,  and  the 
man  whom  the  Government  would  assist  and  encourage 
is  victimized  and  his  meritorious  enterprise  embar- 
rassed or  defeated.  Further  than  this,  in  certain  cases 
where  formerly  there  was  an  abundant  supply  of  timber 
available  from  the  forest  reserve,  since  eliminations 
have  been  made,  residents  find  themselves  unable  to 
secure  timber  for  domestic  and  other  purposes  without 
infringing  the  law ;  and  it  has  been  demonstrated  that 
ordinarily  where  a  tract  of  timber  land  in  a  mining 
region,  once  included  in  a  forest  reserve,  has  later 
been  excluded  from  it,  the  honest  miner  and  prospector 
not  only  had  little  to  do  with  securing  the  elimination, 
but  is  now  anxious  to  be  again  within  the  reserve; 
while  the  purely  speculative  individual,  whose  schemes 
were  formerly  circumvented  by  forest  officers,  and 
through  whose  efforts  the  eliminations  were  made, 
instead  of  being  thwarted,  may  do  whatever  his  sinister 
motives  may  permit. 

It  is  commonly  supposed  that  the  conservation  of 
the  water  supply  and  the  maintenance  of  an  equable 
flow  in  the  streams  of  the  country  are  of  interest  chiefly 
to  the  irrigationists ;  the  placer  miner  in  this  connection 
is  forgotten.  But  he  is  an  important  factor  in  the 
nation's  prosperity.  Without  an  adequate  water  sup- 
ply, he  cannot  conduct  his  operations  successfully,  no 
matter  whether  his  work  be  done  with  the  primitive 


330  Proce;e:dings  o^  rut 

rock  and  the  sluice  box,  or  carried  on  with  the  most 
advanced  dredging  or  hydraulic  elevator  machinery. 
Moreover,  as  shown  by  the  history  of  placer  mining 
in  California,  Montana,  and  other  great  gold-producing 
States,  there  is  a  diminishing  supply  of  water  in  every 
mining  locality.  The  barren  hills,  once  clothed  with 
timber,  tell  the  tale  of  repeated  fires  and  testify  to  the 
reduced  water-storing  capacity  of  the  drainage  basin 
involved.  The  methods  of  practical  forestry  as  carried 
out  in  the  administration  of  forest  reserves  make  it 
easy  for  miners  of  all  descriptions  to  secure  adequate 
supplies  of  timber  to  satisfy  their  needs,  and  wherever 
a  reserve  has  been  established  a  sufficient  length  of 
time,  the  honest  miner  is  ever  the  friend  of  the  reserve 
system. 

Like  any  other  innovation,  the  introduction  of 
forestry  methods  in  a  mining  camp  commonly  arouses 
apprehension  and  antagonism ;  but  experience  cures  the 
troubles.  The  conservative  business  administration  of 
the  forest  reserve  quickly  results  in  the  appreciation 
of  the  beneficent  purposes  of  the  reserve  system,  and 
converts  enemies  into  friends.  The  honest  prospector 
and  the  bona  fide  miner  have  nothing  to  fear  from  the 
forest  reserve.  As  the  forest  policy  shall  be  elaborated 
and  adapted  to  the  varying  local  conditions,  the  ad- 
ministration of  the  reserve  will  be  improved,  and  the 
interests  of  the  mining  industry  more  enhanced.  Ex- 
amined from  the  viewpoint  of  experience,  the  relation 
of  forest  reserves  to  the  mining  industry  appears  so 
intimate,  the  success  of  one  so  directly  interwoven  with 
and  dependent  upon  the  continued  prosperity  of  the 
other,  that  the  possibility  of  real  antagonism  between 
them  cannot  be  entertained.  The  forest  reserve  system 
has  come  as  a  benefactor  of  the  mining  industry,  and 
when   properly   understood,   it   gives   every   incentive 


Ame:rican  Fore:st  Congress  331 

to  miners  to  yield  it  their  loyal  support.  American 
forestry  and  American  mining  should  work  hand  in 
hand.  Forest  officers,  laboring  for  the  common  good 
of  all,  reciprocally  miners,  as  active  and  efficient 
friends,  may  cooperate  in  the  achievement  of  noble 
objects  alike  beneficial  to  themselves  and  conducive  to 
the  public  weal. 


THE  VALUE  OF  FORESTRY  TO  COM- 
MERCIAL INTERESTS 

BY 

GEORGE  H.  MAXWELL 

Executive  Chairman,  The  National  Irrigation  Association 

C  OME  ten  days  ago  a  telegram  reached  me  from  the 
Governor  of  CaHfornia  asking  if  I  could  attend 
this  Congress  as  a  delegate  from  California.  I  replied 
that  I  could,  and  in  due  time  received  his  appointment. 
I  mention  that  merely  in  order  that  I  may  impress  upon 
your  minds  that  in  the  few  words  I  have  to  say  to  you 
at  this  gathering,  I  speak  as  a  delegate  from  and  a 
citizen  of  California  and  a  resident  of  that  State,  from 
the  time  of  my  birth  until  the  last  few  years,  which 
warrants  me  in  speaking  of  forestry  from  the  stand- 
point of  a  Western  man. 

I  think  it  is  only  proper  that  I  should  further  say  to 
you  that  I  also  represent  on  this  occasion  the  National 
Irrigation  Association,  an  organization  of  between  two 
and  three  thousand  of  the  largest  commercial  and 
manufacturing  firms  in  the  United  States,  located 
chiefly  in  the  Eastern  States,  and  that  I  speak  also 
from  the  standpoint  of  the  Eastern  commercial  and 
manufacturing  interests. 

I  think  the  mistake  which  those  of  us  who  are  from 
the  west  make  to-day,  and  always  have  made,  is  in 
looking  upon  this  question  of  forestry  in  any  sense  as 
a  sectional  question.  It  is  necessarily  as  much  a 
national  question  as  the  maintenance  of  an  army  or 
the  construction  of  a  navy. 

I  wish  I  had  the  power  by  some  telepathic  process 


American  Forest  Congress  333 

of  impressing  upon  the  mind  of  every  man  present  the 
picture  that  is  in  my  own  mind  as  I  stand  here. 

I  crossed  the  Mississippi  river  on  my  way  to  the 
west  a  Httle  over  two  years  ago  on  a  ferry  boat  on 
which  was  loaded  a  train  of  overland  passenger  cars, 
and  as  we  crossed  that  great  river  opposite  the  city  of 
New  Orleans,  during  one  of  the  greatest  floods  in 
years,  the  flood  was  almost  up  to  the  tops  of  the  levees 
on  both  sides  of  the  river.  It  was  a  serious  question 
whether  the  city  of  New  Orleans  was  not  in  danger ; 
and  as  we  landed  on  the  west  side  of  the  river  we 
looked  down  over  the  bank  and  saw  the  plantations 
way  down  below  the  level  of  the  water,  and  exposed  to 
overflow  and  destruction  any  moment  that  artificial 
barrier  gave  way.  Before  we  had  gone  twentyfour 
hours  further  west  the  levee  did  break  and  one  of  those 
great  crevasses  was  formed,  and  practically  destroyed 
the  crop  for  that  season  over  a  large  area;  though 
other  localities  and  the  city  of  New  Orleans  were  saved 
by  the  diminished  pressure  of  the  flood  on  the  adjacent 
levees. 

As  I  stood  on  the  boat  and  looked  out  over  that  great 
river,  then  at  its  highest  flood  stage,  I  realized  the  fact 
that  from  over  more  than  one-third  of  the  entire  area 
of  this  nation,  the  water  that  falls  upon  it  must  escape 
to  the  ocean  through  that  one  gateway;  and  that  as 
the  years  go  by,  year  after  year,  we  are  destroying  the 
grass  and  plowing  up  the  prairies  and  stripping  the 
trees  and  the  brush  and  forests  from  the  mountains  so 
that  the  engineers  can  see  that  every  flood  plane  gets 
a  little  bit  higher  than  the  last. 

I  could  not  help  thinking  to  myself  whether  it  might 
not  be  possible  some  day  or  other  to  awaken  the  people 
of  the  Mississippi  valley  to  a  realization  of  the  fact 
that  forestry  is  a  problem  extending  from  New  Orleans 


334  Proce:i:dings  of  the: 

to  the  Continental  divide  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  on 
the  west,  to  Canada  on  the  north,  and  to  the  crest  of 
the  Alleghenies  on  the  east,  where  the  Ohio  river  has 
its  source.  And  if  it  is  expected  in  the  years  to  come 
to  control  that  great  flood  by  building  the  levees  higher 
and  higher,  I  have  only  to  say  to  the  people  of  the 
lower  Mississippi  valley,  the  sugar  bowl  of  the  conti- 
nent, that  the  time  will  come  when  they  cannot  build 
them  higher  and  the  country  will  go  back  to  a  swamp 
and  be  as  desolate  as  it  is  to-day  where  the  St.  Francis 
basin  is  covered  with  water  through  which  you  may 
look  down  and  see  the  tops  of  the  trees  that  once  grew 
on  dry  land.     How  are  you  going  to  prevent  that? 

I  say  to  you  as  a  commercial  proposition,  if  you  look 
at  it  solely  from  that  standpoint,  as  a  proposition  of 
cold,  hard  figures,  that  it  is  the  duty  of  the  national 
government  to  conserve  that  flood  of  water  so  that 
every  drop  of  it  can  be  used  in  the  State  where  it  falls 
before  it  finds  its  way  into  that  great  river  and  goes 
down  to  destroy  the  plantations.  And  that  year  by 
year  the  use  of  that  water,  if  it  were  all  used  for  power, 
for  irrigation,  for  the  navigation  of  the  streams  in  the 
summer  season  (because  the  water  would  be  in  the 
streams  then  in  the  summer  season),  that  it  would 
more  than  double,  more  than  treble,  more  than  quad- 
ruple the  productive  power  of  more  than  one-third 
of  the  United  States. 

Isn't  it  worth  doing? 

Let  us  carry  the  picture  in  our  minds  a  little  farther 
up  the  river  and  look  at  Kansas  City  and  that  great 
flood  that  came  so  near  destroying  its  business  section 
that  same  winter.  Look  at  the  Ohio  River  flood  in 
the  Pittsburg  vicinity  that  same  winter.  Look  at  the 
Allegheny  Mountain  region  a  year  later.  I  came 
down    from    Harrisburg   to   Washington    last    spring 


American  Forest  Congress  335 

when  Congress  was  in  session.  The  railroad  track 
had  been  submerged  and  torn  to  pieces  in  many  places 
by  the  flood,  and  the  ice  was  banked  up  as  high  as  the 
second  story  windows  of  the  farmhouses  to  the  left 
as  we  came  down  the  river. 

It  is  only  within  the  last  two  weeks  that  I  read  an 
article  in  the  New  York  papers  to  the  effect  that  the 
cities  of  that  Allegheny  region  were  without  water, 
the  railroads  were  hauling  water  and  the  mines  were 
shut  down  because  the  rivers  were  dry. 

I  ask,  why  is  that?  And  I  will  answer  the  question 
for  you.  It  is  because  we  have  gone  over  those  hills 
and  mountains  with  axe  and  fire  and  stripped  the 
hillside  and  the  mountain  tops  of  the  whole  Allegheny 
region,  and  instead  of  having  a  natural  forest  cover, 
which  is  the  greatest  reservoir  known  to  nature  or  to 
man,  we  have  a  surface  which  sheds  water  as  fast  as 
the  floor  of  this  hall  would  shed  if  if  you  stood  it  at 
an  angle  of  45  degrees. 

There  is  no  other  question  of  as  much  interest  to  the 
commercial,  manufacturing  and  transportation  inter- 
ests of  the  country,  to  say  nothing  of  agriculture,  as 
that  one  question,  forestry. 

It  is  not  a  western  problem  or  an  eastern  problem — 
it  is  a  national  problem. 

When  I  appeal  to  you  for  this  broad  consideration 
of  it,  all  that  I  ask  is  that  you  will  project  your  minds 
across  the  ocean  to  the  shores  of  the  Mediterranean, 
to  Palestine,  to  Persia,  to  the  plains  of  Mesopotamia, 
and  answer  me  this  question : 

Where  is  there  a  nation  that  has  been  desolated  by 
war  that  has  not  been  restored  to  fertility  when  it 
lived  upon  a  land  that  was  productive? 

Where  has  there  been  a  nation  destroyed  by  the 
desert  that  has  been  restored  or  ever  will  be? 


336  Proce:e:dings  o^  th^ 

Instead  of  talking  about  national  protection  by 
"army  and  navy,"  we  should  talk  about  national  pro- 
tection by  "forest,  army,  and  navy." 

I  am  in  favor  of  an  army  commensurate  with  our 
needs.  I  am  in  favor  of  this  nation  having  not  the 
second  best,  but  the  greatest  navy  of  any  nation,  but 
if  we  can  afford  to  do  that,  we  can  afford  to  spend  as 
much  upon  the  preservation  of  our  forests  and  the 
protection  of  our  country  from  destruction  by  the 
desert  as  we  can  afford  to  spend  for  the  protection 
of  our  frontiers  from  a  foreign  foe,  or  to  carry  our 
flag  upon  foreign  seas. 

This  great  problem  of  forestry  is  not  alone  a  matter 
of  sentiment.  It  is  just  as  much  a  cold-blooded  ques- 
tion of  business.  The  speakers  who  preceded  me  have 
spoken  upon  the  importance  of  forestry  to  mining.  I 
have  listened  with  much  interest  to  their  masterly  dis- 
cussions on  the  relation  of  forestry  to  mining,  and  it 
brought  more  forcibly  than  ever  to  my  mind  the  con- 
viction that  the  whole  country  and  those  engaged  in 
all  its  industries  are  fast  coming  to  recognize  the 
importance  of  forestry.  I  regret  that  we  cannot  in- 
clude the  lower  house  of  Congress.  They  do  not  seem 
to  have  yet  waked  up  to  it.  I  have  read  that  the 
Japanese  have  been  throwing  800  shells  a  day  into 
Port  Arthur,  which  have  cost  $1,000  apiece.  I  think 
we  could  well  afford  to  go  to  that  expense  with  shells 
that  were  physically  harmless  to  see  whether  we  could 
not  wake  Congress  up,  by  exploding  that  many  such 
shells  over  the  heads  of  the  members  of  the  House  of 
Representatives. 

I  am  not  going  to  take  up  your  time  with  any  further 
dissertations  upon  the  importance  of  forestry.  But  I 
want  to  offer  some  practical  suggestions  as  to  what  we 
should  do  to  get  what  we  want  done.     I  listened  with 


Ame:rican  Forest  Congress  337 

the  greatest  interest  and  pleasure  to  the  President's 
address  yesterday,  and  one  of  his  sentences  struck  me 
very  forcibly.  He  said :  "We  want  to  change  the  hope 
of  accomplishment  to  the  knowledge  of  things  done." 
If  we  are  going  to  do  that  we  must  have  a  clear-cut 
idea  of  what  we  are  going  to  do  and  of  what  we  want 
Congress  to  do — so  plain  and  clear  that  there  is  no 
possibility  of  any  man  being  so  stupid  that  he  cannot 
understand  it. 

We  have  listened  to  these  gentlemen  here  to-day 
telling  of  the  necessities  of  the  mining  industries  and 
of  the  injustice  brought  about  by  insufficient  laws. 
There  is  a  most  simple  way  to  get  all  the  things  done 
that  they  have  recommended,  and  more,  too.  The 
first  is  to  bring  about  a  perfect  understanding  with  a 
business  bureau  of  the  Government,  if  we  can  create 
such  a  bureau,  and  the  way  to  do  that  is  to  pass  the 
bill  consolidating  the  forest  reserves  under  the  control 
of  Mr.  Gifford  Pinchot. 

And  after  you  have  done  that  and  he  has  consulted 
with  the  lumberman  and  the  rniner  and  the  farmer 
and  understands  what  they  want,  then  back  him  up 
and  make  your  Congressman  help  to  get  it  done. 

There  has  been  a  good  deal  said  here  about  tree 
planting,  and  I  want  to  speak  of  the  importance  of 
tree  planting  to  California.  The  water  that  comes 
from  the  Sierra  Madre  and  San  Bernardino  Mountains 
produces  annually  $20,000,000  worth  of  fruit  and  other 
products  of  the  irrigated  farms  to  exchange  with  the 
manufacturers  of  the  east  for  the  products  of  their 
factories.  The  forests  of  those  mountains  have  been 
neglected,  thousands  of  acres  have  been  burnt  over 
and  destroyed.  One  citizen  of  that  State  has  interested 
himself  prominently  in  tree  planting.  I  refer  to  Mr. 
Lukens.     He  deserves  to  be  mentioned  by  name.     He 


33^  Proceedings  of  the 

has  given  generously  of  his  own  time  and  his  own 
money  and  the  Government  has  helped  in  a  niggardly 
way.  There  is  now  a  nursery  of  trees  ready  to  be 
planted  upon  the  hillsides  of  those  burnt  wastes  and 
we  cannot  get  a  few  thousand  dollars'  appropriation 
to  plant  the  trees. 

Now  why  is  it  that  such  a  condition  as  that  can 
exist?  Why  is  it?  I  will  tell  you  the  reason.  It  is 
because  we  have  *'Watch  Dogs  of  the  Treasury"  in 
Congress  who  object  to  large  appropriations  for  for- 
estry. They  can  see  the  vast  importance  of  huge 
contracts  for  armor  plate  and  for  building  fortifications, 
but  they  care  nothing  about  protecting  our  country 
from  destruction  by  the  desert. 

Let  us  look  at  the  business  end  of  that  proposition. 
There  are  other  things  besides  bees  that  have  business 
ends.  For  a  number  of  years  the  President  of  the 
United  States,  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior  and  the 
Commissioner  of  the  General  Land  Office  have  been 
trying  to  impress  upon  Congress,  without  success,  the 
necessity  of  repealing  the  Timber  and  Stone  act.  I 
want  to  give  the  exact  facts.  The  President,  in  De- 
cember, 1902,  more  than  two  years  ago,  called  the 
attention  of  Congress  in  the  strongest  possible  lan- 
guage to  the  necessity  of  doing  something  to  stop  the 
frauds  and  depredations  upon  the  public  domain  under 
the  Timber  and  Stone  Act.  The  Secretary  of  the 
Interior  reiterated  his  demand,  and  specifically  urged 
Congress  to  repeal  that  law. 

The  secretary  said  in  his  annual  report  more  than 
two  years  ago : 

"The  Timber  and  Stone  Act  will,  if  not  repealed  or 
radically  amended,  result  ultimately  in  the  complete 
destruction  of  the  timber  on  the  unappropriated  and 
unreserved  public  lands." 


American  Forest  Congress  339 

I  find  these  words  in  the  report  of  the  Senate  Com- 
mittee on  the  PiibHc  Lands,  and  the  date  is  February 
19,  1903: 

"It  can  be  plainly  seen  that  all  the  valuable  timber 
lands  of  the  United  States  will  be  owned  by  speculators 
within  three  years  if  the  opportunity  to  acquire  them 
at  $2.50  an  acre  is  continued." 

That  was  February  19,  1903. 

It  is  now  pretty  close  to  February  19,  1905,  and  one 
year  from  that  date  the  three  years  will  be  exhausted, 
all  the  timber  land  will  be  gone,  according  to  this 
official  statement. 

Has  the  bill  been  repealed?  No!  Has  the  House 
of  Representatives  done  anything  to  stop  this  shameful 
waste  of  the  public  property  under  the  Timber  and 
Stone  Act  ?     No ! 

They  have  done  nothing  whatever  to  stop  the  abuses 
and  frauds  constantly  being  committed  under  that  act. 

Again,  the  following  year  the  President  in  his  mes- 
sage to  Congress  made  substantially  the  same  recom- 
mendation. They  were  reiterated  by  the  Secretary 
of  the  Interior.  The  Senate  Committee  on  Public 
Lands  recommended  a  bill  to  repeal  the  Timber  and 
Stone  Act  and  the  Senate  passed  the  bill  in  the  last 
session  of  Congress. 

It  went  to  the  Public  Lands  Committee  of  the  House 
of  Representatives. 

Mr.  T.  B.  Walker  appeared  before  that  committee 
and  waved  his  magic  wand  and  they  gave  two  votes 
for  the  repeal  of  the  bill  out  of  eighteen  members  of 
the  committee.  Two  votes!  And  the  bill  is  lying 
there  in  that  committee  yet. 

In  this  session  of  Congress,  without  waiting  for 
anything,  or  for  anybody  to  do  anything,  they  passed 
a   resolution   in  the  Public  Lands  Committee  of  the 


340  Proce:e:dings  oi^  the: 

House  continuing  this  whole  subject  over  until  the 
next  session  of  Congress. 

The  next  session  of  Congress  will  convene  at  a  time 
within  two  months  of  the  expiration  of  the  three  years 
within  which  the  Senate  committee  told  Congress  that 
all  the  timber  land  would  be  gone  unless  they  got 
action. 

T.  B.  Walker  is  one  of  those  astute  business  men 
who  has  taken  full  advantage  of  the  idiocy  and  incom- 
petency of  the  men  who  have  framed  our  timber  laws 
in  the  past  to  amass  a  fortune  for  himself  in  timber- 
lands.  He  is  reputed  to  be  the  largest  individual  owner 
of  timberland  in  the  United  States.  I  do  not  charge 
Mr.  Walker  with  having  committed  any  fraud  himself, 
and  the  fact  that  he  has  acquired  a  fortune  running 
into  millions  by  the  utilization  of  laws  which  enabled 
him  to  absorb  the  public  forests  into  his  private  owner- 
ship is  one  of  the  severest  criticisms  that  can  be  made 
of  the  law  I  am  talking  about. 

Now  it  is  a  question  of  money.  From  the  standpoint 
of  Congress  this  great  nation  has  not  enough  money 
to  plant  those  few  trees  we  have  in  the  nursery,  to 
protect  the  forests  of  Southern  California  and  the 
water  supply  of  its  farms  and  of  the  cities  of  Los 
Angeles  and  Pasadena. 

In  the  two  years  that  have  expired  since  the  Presi- 
dent has  called  the  attention  of  Congress  to  that  timber 
and  stone  law  there  has  been  located  under  the  Timber 
and  Stone  Act  over  3,000,000  acres  of  timberland, 
the  greater  part  of  it  the  magnificent  timber  of  the 
Northwest,  which,  according  to  the  report  of  the  Sec- 
retary of  the  Interior  and  the  Commissioner  of  the 
General  Land  Office,  is  worth  anywhere  from  $20  to 
$100  an  acre,  for  the  mere  value  of  the  stumpage,  to 
say  nothing  of  the  young  timber  or  the  land  itself. 


American  Forest  Congress  341 

In  other  words,  as  a  result  of  the  deHberate  delay 
of  the  Public  Lands  Committee  of  the  House,  instead 
of  having  the  value  of  the  stumpage  from  that  3,000,- 
000  acres  of  timber  in  the  national  treasury,  we  have 
parted  with  the  timber  and  the  land  and  the  young 
growth  and  everything  for  $2.50  an  acre. 

Taking  the  value  of  that  timber  at  what  the  stumpage 
actually  sold  for  upon  some  of  the  Government  land 
in  Minnesota,  $15.06  an  acre,  the  Government  has  lost 
$40,000,000  by  that  proceeding.  But  the  stumpage  on 
the  3,000,000  acres  located  during  the  last  two  years 
was  much  more  valuable  than  that.  And  if  the  Gov- 
ernment had  managed  its  timberland  business  as  any 
business  man  or  any  man  of  sense  would  have  managed 
it,  we  might  just  as  well  as  not  have  realized  $70,000,- 
000  from  that  stumpage,  and  have  had  our  young 
forest  trees  planted  in  southern  California  and  the 
surplus  left  over. 

We  are  told  that  there  is  going  to  be  a  deficit  this 
year  in  the  revenues  of  the  United  States  of  $22,000,- 
000.  If  we  had  not  thrown  away  that  $70,000,000 
we  could  have  covered  that  deficit  at  least  twice  over 
and  still  have  had  money  left  in  the  treasury.  In  other 
words,  the  Public  Lands  Committee  of  the  House  has 
thrown  away  over  $70,000,000  of  the  people's  money 
in  the  last  two  years.  If  we  should  put  this  total  loss 
at  only  $50,000,000  for  the  two  years  it  has  amounted 
to  over  $2,000,000  a  month,  or  about  $70,000  a  day. 

Now  suppose  some  enterprising  and  ingenious  per- 
son had  succeeded  in  tunnelling  under  the  United 
States  treasury  and  cut  a  hole  into  the  vaults  and  was 
carrying  ofif  $70,000  a  day.  Don't  you  suppose  we 
could  get  the  people  of  the  United  States  to  wake  up 
the  Public  Lands  Committee  if  it  required  some  action 
by  them  to  stop  the  stealing?     That  is  exactly  what  is 

L 


342  Proceedings  of  the 

going  on;  for  if  the  House  Public  Lands  Committee 
does  nothing  in  this  session  of  Congress  (and  they  have 
already  voted  to  do  nothing),  the  loss  to  this  country 
of  $70,000  a  day — $2,000,000  a  month — $25,000,000 
a  year,  and  it  is  much  more  than  that — will  go  right 
along  and  continue  until  all  the  timberland  of  our 
Government  has  been  stolen.  That  will  be  a  little 
over  a  year,  according  to  the  report  of  the  Senate 
Public  Lands  Committee.  And  after  the  land  is  all 
gone — after  the  horse  has  been  stolen,  the  House  Public 
Lands  Committee  will  awaken  from  their  Rip  Van 
Winkle  slumbers  and  close  the  stable  door  with  a  bang. 

Now  who  has  got  this  vast  sum  of  money  that  has 
been  lost  to  the  people  and  the  Government?  Some 
very  enterprising  gentlemen  of  the  West  have  made 
it,  who  are  taking  advantage  of  this  law  to  their  own 
personal  profit  and  we  are  very  seriously  told  that  the 
West  does  not  want  the  repeal  of  the  Timber  and  Stone 
Act.  Mr.  Lacey,  of  Iowa,  the  chairman  of  the  commit- 
tee, says  that  "the  boys  on  the  committee  do  not  want 
the  law  repealed."  Let  me  illustrate  this  condition  in 
the  West.  Suppose  we  had  a  law  by  which  $70,000  a  day 
or  $2,000,000  a  month  was  being  paid  to  Tammany 
Hall  from  the  national  treasury,  to  be  divided  among 
the  members  of  that  organization  and  expended  by 
them  as  each  of  them  in  his  judgment  should  deem 
most  meet  and  proper  for  the  promotion  of  good  gov- 
ernment in  New  York  City. 

Don't  you  suppose  that  Tammany  Hall  would  be 
opposed  to  the  repeal  of  that  law? 

You  might  apply  the  same  idea  with  reference  to 
this  question  of  the  West.  But  it  is  a  more  serious 
matter  than  that.  There  are  men  in  Congress  who  will 
deliberately  stand  up  and  say  that  this  law  should  not 
and  shall  not  be  repealed. 


American  Forest  Congress  343 

There  was  one  thing  the  President  said  yesterday 
that  I  as  a  Western  man  cannot  fully  endorse.  He  said, 
in  substance,  that  if  the  forests  of  the  West  are  to  be 
saved,  the  people  of  the  West  must  save  them.  I  say 
to  you  that  if  the  forests  of  Oregon  and  Idaho  and 
Washington  and  Montana  and  Colorado  are  not  to  be 
saved  unless  the  people  of  those  States  save  them, 
they  will  never  be  saved.  If  they  are  to  be  saved  at 
all,  it  will  be  by  Theodore  Roosevelt  and  the  people 
of  the  East. 

I  want  right  here  to  express  the  obligations  we  owe 
to  President  Roosevelt  for  going  into  the  West  and 
making  forest  reserves  which  have  saved  thousands 
upon  thousands  of  acres  of  forests  of  the  West  that 
never  would  have  been  saved  had  it  not  been  for 
Theodore  Roosevelt. 

It  is  also  a  matter  of  history  that  the  forest  policy 
which  now  exists  was  forced  upon  the  West  against 
its  will  by  Grover  Cleveland  by  executive  order. 

You  find  such  Congressmen  as  Mr.  French,  from 
Idaho,  arguing  against  the  repeal  of  the  Timber  and 
Stone  Act  and  making  such  arguments  as  I  have 
heard  him  make,  that  it  was  a  good  thing  for  the  Gov- 
ernment to  sell  a  man  for  $400  a  quarter  section  of 
land,  which  he  could  turn  around  and  sell  for  $4,000 — 
that  it  induced  people  to  go  to  Idaho  and  gave  them 
capital  to  start  in  business.  Don't  you  suppose  that 
if  you  offered  a  bonus  of  $3,600  in  cash  out  of  the 
national  treasury  to  every  many  who  would  come  to 
Washington  to  live  that  you  could  get  more  people  to 
reside  here  and  raise  the  value  of  real  estate  in  the 
city?  That  is  the  proposition  from  the  Idaho  stand- 
point as  applied  to  the  city  of  Washington. 

Before  I  close  I  wish  to  specify  some  definite  and 
specific  things  which  should  be  done: 


344  Procee:dings  oi^  the 

First.  Repeal  the  Timber  and  Stone  Act. 

Second.  Pass  the  consoUdation  bill  putting  the  Gov- 
ernment forests  under  the  management  of  the  Bureau 
of  Forestry. 

Third.  Provide  by  national  legislation  that  every 
acre  of  agricultural  land  that  can  be  reclaimed  under 
the  national  irrigation  system  must  be  saved  for  the 
homemaker  who  will  go  there  and  make  a  home  upon 
it. 

In  that  way  you  can  break  up  the  timber  combina- 
tion, and  in  that  way  only;  because  the  land  thieves 
of  North  Dakota,  under  the  Commutation  Clause^he 
land  thieves  of  Montana  under  the  Desert  Land  Act — 
the  land  thieves,  under  the  Timber  and  Stone  Act — 
well,  perhaps  I  might  be  permitted  to  mention  Oregon 
in  this  connection — are  working  together.  You  will 
have  to  explode  some  of  those  Japanese  shells  among 
them  to  break  up  the  combination. 

The  situation  in  Oregon  reminds  me  of  a  saying  of 
Mayor  Henry,  of  the  city  of  Oakland,  out  in  California, 
twenty  or  more  years  ago.  There  had  been  a  good 
deal  of  rottenness  in  the  municipal  affairs.  The  newly- 
elected  mayor  was  something  of  a  rival  of  Mrs.  Part- 
ington. His  knowledge  of  Greek  names  were  a  little 
mixed,  and  in  his  inaugural  address  he  declared  with 
great  energy,  "Gentlemen,  I  am  going  to  clean  out 
the  Oregon  stables!" 

I  really  think  we  are  going  to  get  the  Oregon  stables 
cleaned  out. 

To  show  you  why  we  cannot  depend  upon  Congress- 
men from  the  timber  State  of  the  West  to  correct  this 
enormous  evil,  a  year  ago  both  Oregon  Senators  and 
both  Representatives  from  Oregon  were  bitterly  op- 
posed to  any  change  in  the  land  laws.  Representatives 
Hermann  and  Williamson  both  went  before  the  com- 


American  Forest  Congress  345 

mittee  and  protested  against  any  change.  Mr.  Her- 
mann was  before  the  committee.  At  that  exact  moment 
the  Oregon  grand  jury  was  in  session  in  the  city  of 
Portland,  composed  of  men  drawn  by  lot  from  all 
over  the  State,  and  that  grand  jury  urged  the  repeal 
of  all  those  laws — the  Timber  and  Stone  Act,  the 
Desert  Land  Act,  and  the  Commutation  Clause,  and 
sent  a  memorial  to  the  Public  Lands  Commission  to 
that  effect.  Now  the  grand  jury  has  had  some  busi- 
ness with  Mr.  Hermann  since  that  time. 

I  understand  that  Mr.  Williamson  is  not  here,  and 
I  do  not  know  where  he  is.  I  did  see  an  article  in  an 
Oregon  paper  charging  that  he  put  up  the  money 
himself  for  some  fellow  to  buy  a  lot  of  worthless  school 
land,  and  then  they  tried  to  get  it  into  a  forest  reserve 
and  failed  and  Williamson  lost  his  money. 

I  am  lifting  the  sheet  ofif  the  corpse  a  little,  but  I 
don't  think  it  will  do  any  harm.  If  you  don't  have  these 
cold,  hard  facts  impressed  upon  you  by  somebody  you 
are  not  going  to  accomplish  anything. 

If  you  want  to  do  something,  go  ahead  and  talk  to 
your  member  of  Congress  and  get  him  to  help  to  get 
the  House  of  Representatives  to  carry  the  public  lands 
legislation  right  straight  over  the  heads  of  the  com- 
mittee. 

They  passed  one  land  bill  at  the  last  session  of 
Congress,  a  bill  throwing  away  thousands  and  hun- 
dreds of  thousands  of  acres  of  lands,  in  tracts  of  640 
acres,  in  western  Nebraska,  which  should  have  been 
retained  and  trees  planted  on  it  to  be  used  in  the 
mines  of  South  Dakota,  and  of  the  whole  Rocky 
Mountain  region.  Nebraska  sold  its  birthright  for 
a  mess  of  pottage  when  it  allowed  the  Kinkaid  bill 
to  become  a  law.  The  whole  scheme  for  640-acre 
homesteads  is  a  rank  deception  and  offers  a  premium 
for  fraud. 


346  Proceedings  o^  the 

There  are  a  number  of  other  things  that  I  have  in 
my  mind  to  suggest  that  ought  to  be  done : 

One  is  to  pass  the  Appalachian  Forest  Reserve  bill, 
which  is  ready  to  be  passed. 

Another  is  to  stop  now  and  for  all  time  all  exchanges 
of  lands  in  forest  reserves  for  other  lands.  If  the 
Government  needs  any  such  lands  let  it  buy  them  and 
pay  for  them  their  fair  value  and  no  more.  All  lieu 
land  scrip  should  be  called  in  and  cancelled  and  no 
more  ever  issued  under  any  circumstances.  The 
forest  lieu  land  exchange  law  should  be  repealed. 

And  if  this  session  of  Congress  adjourns  without 
the  bill  being  passed  by  the  House,  which  has  passed 
the  Senate,  repealing  the  Timber  and  Stone  Act,  every 
member  of  the  Public  Lands  Committee,  who  voted 
for  delay,  ought  to  be  held  up  to  popular  obloquy  and 
whipped  at  the  cart's  tail  with  a  lash  that  would  make 
them  feel  the  full  weight  of  an  outraged  national  public 
sentiment. 

They  are  not  liable  to  punishment  criminally,  but 
they  are  morally  responsible  for  every  fraud  committed 
under  the  Timber  and  Stone  Act  since  they  shelved  the 
bill  passed  by  the  Senate  in  the  last  session  of  Congress 
to  repeal  it. 

But  it  is  not  enough  merely  to  repeal  the  Timber 
and  Stone  Act.  Every  acre  of  public  forest  lands  or 
brush  or  woodlands  which  conserve  a  water  supply 
should  be  at  once  embraced  in  permanent  forest 
reserves,  the  title  to  be  always  retained  by  the  national 
government,  and  the  stumpage  only  of  matured  timber 
to  be  sold. 

The  whole  great  plains  region  should  be  studied  and 
developed  as  a  vast  area  which  can  be  transformed 
from  a  semi-arid  region  to  one  of  great  fertility  and 
more  humid  climate  by  the  planting  of  immense  areas. 


American  Forest  Congress  347 

hundreds  of  thousands  of  acres,  of  new  forests  by  the 
national  government  on  the  wide  level  prairies  and 
bare,  rolling  foot-hills  which  are  now  supposed  to  be 
among  the  waste  places  of  the  land  and  only  fit  for 
grazing  ground  for  a  few  stray  cattle  and  sheep. 

It  is  the  vast  possibilities  of  forest  planting  and  tim- 
ber production  in  this  region  that  makes  it  almost  a 
crime  against  future  generations  to  part  with  the  land 
in  its  present  condition  to  stockmen  under  such  a 
scheme  as  the  Kinkaid  bill  for  the  creation  of  large 
grazing  estates  in  private  ownership. 

The  mining  and  transportation  interests,  more  im- 
mediately than  any  other,  ought  to  oppose  this  640-acre 
homestead  idea  anywhere  in  the  great  plains  or  Rocky 
Mountain  States,  and  help  to  inaugurate  a  great 
national  policy  of  planting  new  forests,  not  only  to 
furnish  wood  and  timber  for  the  mines,  and  railroad 
ties  and  timber  for  railroad  construction  and  repair, 
but  to  conserve  and  increase  the  rainfall,  regulate  the 
flow  of  the  rivers,  stop  floods  and  furnish  'water  for 
irrigation. 

In  all  those  Western  States,  the  State  has  the  power 
to  form  districts  for  local  public  improvements,  such 
as  irrigation  districts,  sanitary  districts,  drainage  dis- 
tricts, or  levee  districts,  and  I,  for  one,  do  not  believe 
that  it  is  the  right  policy  that  the  national  government 
should  assume  the  burden  of  protecting  from  fire 
forests  now  owned  by  men  who  have  gotten  them 
from  the  Government  for  one-tenth  of  their  value. 
The  State  and  nation  should  cooperate  to  form  forestry 
districts  and  have  assessments  levied  on  all  private 
lands  in  the  district,  and  every  acre,  whether  in  public 
or  private  ownership,  should  contribute  its  proportion 
to  the  cost  of  preserving  it  from  fire. 

There  is  one  more  thing  I  am  going  to  urge  as  a 


34^  Proce:edings  of  th^ 

mere  matter  of  personal  opinion.  In  making  the  sug- 
gestion I  do  not  speak  for  California  or  for  the  Na- 
tional Irrigation  Association,  but  for  myself  alone.  I 
have  been  all  my  life  a  republican,  and  in  my  earlier 
years  advocated  the  republican  doctrine  of  a  tariff  for 
protection  in  many  political  campaigns  in  my  native 
State  of  California  from  the  Oregon  line  to  Mexico; 
but  because  I  believe  in  preserving  our  industries  and 
not  in  destroying  them,  I  believe  that  in  order  to 
preserve  the  forest  industries  of  this  nation,  we  should 
repeal  every  tariff  law  imposing  a  tariff  upon  the 
products  of  the  forests  whether  timber  or  wood  or 
wood  pulp,  at  any  rate  for  a  limited  number  of  years, 
and  until  we  have  planted  forests  enough  to  annually 
harvest  from  our  own  forests  all  the  wood  and  timber 
we  use  in  any  one  year. 


STATISTICAL  RELATION  BETWEEN 
FORESTRY  AND  MINING 

{Impromptu  Address) 

BY 

DR.  DAVID  T.  DAY 

United  States  Geological  Survey 

nr  HE  relations  of  the  mining  industry  to  timber 
supplies  and  the  consequently  necessary  forest 
culture,  have  been  stated  many  times  and  many  ways 
so  that  the  views  on  this  subject  are  not  novel,  neither 
are  they  clear.  They  are  not  clear  because  of 
fragmentary  statements  made  largely  from  very  differ- 
ent viewpoints  by  miners  and  by  foresters.  Further, 
during  the  few  years  in  which  this  subject  has  been 
discussed  the  relations  have  been  changing. 

The  mining  company  is  recognized  as  a  good  cus- 
tomer by  the  lumberman  and  by  the  preserver  of 
forests  he  is  recognized  as  a  wanton  destroyer  and  a 
deadly  foe. 

The  miner  has  established  his  reputation  as  a  good 
customer  to  the  lumberman  and  he  is  daily  becoming 
a  better  customer.  This  is  because  mine  timber  seldom 
costs  more  than  lo  per  cent,  of  the  cost  of  the  ore,  and 
the  large  consumers  want  the  best  and  can  easily  afford 
to  pay  good  prices  for  it.  He  can  afford  to  send 
farther  for  his  supply  than  most  other  customers.  He 
is  much  in  the  same  category  as  the  railroad,  except 
that  frequently  poor  timber  will  last  longer  than  it 
needs  to  last  in  a  mine,  and  this  is  never  the  case  with 
ties.  The  miner  outran  the  railroads  as  a  timber  con- 
sumer, for  it  was  stated  here  yesterday  that  a  forest 
reserve  of  half  a  million  acres  would  (properly  man- 
aged)  furnish  the  United  States  with  ties.     I  doubt 


350  Proceedings  of  the 

if  10,000,000  acres  would  suffice  to  keep  the  miners 
going.  ^ 

We  have  no  accurate  knowledge  of  the  amount  of 
timber  used  in  a  year  in  the  mines.  But  we  do  know 
that  it  requires  about  a  cubic  foot  for  each  ton  of 
anthracite,  say  70,000,000  cubic  feet  per  year,  some- 
what less  for  each  ton  of  bituminous,  say  250,000,000 
cubic  feet  yearly.  Iron  ore  needs  at  least  20,000,000 
feet,  precious  metal  mining  needs  a  cubic  foot  for  each 
cube  of  gold,  such  as  I  have  here,  or  say  75,000,000 
cubic  feet,  or  say  400,000,000  cubic  feet  a  year  for  the 
whole  mining  industry. 

As  a  deadly  foe  to  the  forester  the  reputation  of  the 
miner  is  losing  his  former  picturesque  position,  as  fast 
as  many  of  the  sensational  stories  of  the  miner's 
depravity  cease  to  represent  present  conditions,  and 
pass  with  old  pioneer  conditions  into  the  legends  of  old 
days. 

Foremost  among  these  dear  old  classic  legends  is 
that  of  the  prospector  who  burns  off  the  forest  to  get 
rid  of  the  undergrowth  so  he  can  more  easily  discover 
his  hidden  treasure.  Of  course,  prospectors  include 
every  sort  of  man,  even  the  kind  so  foolish  as  to  resort 
to  such  methods,  but  such  men  are  disclaimed  by  the 
profession  and  in  no  way  characterize  the  prospectors. 
I  doubt  if  any  species  of  tramp  ever  traverses  the 
forest  who  uses  such  thoroughly  trained  care  in  ex- 
tinguishing every  spark  of  fire  he  kindles  as  the  genuine 
life-time  prospector.  He  is  accustomed  to  use  every 
mark  of  changing  vegetation  to  guide  him  in  looking 
for  changes  in  rock  and  soil  conditions.  He  wants 
trees  for  landmarks  if  nothing  more,  and  the  only 
places  where  vegetation  is  so  dense  that  burning  off 
would  compensate  for  the  loss  of  guiding  marks  is  in 
regions  so  wet  that  you  could  not  build  a  forest  fire 
with  kerosene. 


American  Forest  Congrkss  351 

The  main  reason  why  the  miner  is  no  longer  a  foe 
to  forest  protection,  is  on  account  of  two  influences  at 
work  upon  him.  First,  the  missionary  work  of  the 
foresters  has  converted  him  from  wantonness  in  cut- 
ting timber.  The  mines  are  growing  larger  and  less 
of  them,  there  are  fewer  mining  superintendents  to 
educate  and  they  are  men  of  high  grade.  But  most 
significant  is  a  changing  condition  in  mining  practice 
by  which  the  mining  company  falls  into  the  same  cate- 
gory as  the  lumberman  as  regards  forestry.  The 
change  is  this,  the  mining  company  cuts  a  continually 
lessening  percentage  of  its  own  timber  and  buys  corre- 
spondingly more  from  a  distance.  This  increased 
attention  to  their  own  specialty  of  mining  and  buying 
their  supplies  of  all  kinds,  especially  their  timber,  from 
outside  agencies  is  as  marked  a  development  as  any 
othdr  kind  of  industrial  specialization  and  is  as  greatly 
aided  by  increased  facilities  for  transporting  supplies 
from  considerable  distances. 

The  timber  merchant  will  in  the  future  stand  between 
the  forester  and  the  mining  company.  This  is  fortu- 
nate, especially  in  one  way.  There  is  no  more  difficult 
task  than  trying  to  educate  the  average  mining  man  into 
any  attribute  of  patience  such  as  planting  trees  for  his 
successor  to  use.  His  whole  training  is  in  the  line  of 
getting  out  all  his  ore  with  the  greatest  possible  speed — 
to  work  out  the  deposit  and  go  somewhere  else. 

Frankly,  the  mining  company  often  has  been  and 
occasionally  still  may  be,  worse  than  the  man  who 
skins  a  country,  the  miner  disembowels  it  and  leaves 
an  absolute  desert  above  and  below.  If  the  miner  can 
be  taught  by  forestry  methods  something  of  conserva- 
tism in  rushing  his  mineral  to  market,  the  whole 
country  will  be  better  off. 

Further,  it  seems  that  as  the  friends  of  good  govern- 


352  Proceedings  of  the 

ment  all  citizens  may  take  another  lesson  from  the 
Government's  attitude  to  the  public  forest  lands,  and 
just  as  the  general  people's  valuable  forest  assets  are 
being  set  apart  for  careful  husbandry  in  forest  reserves, 
so  the  citizens  may  well  insist  that  our  public  mineral 
lands  have  ceased  to  serve  a  useful  purpose  as  a  bait  to 
immigration.  It  is  no  longer  necessary  nor  good  public 
policy  for  the  Government  to  give  away  practically  free 
to  the  mine  promoter  valuable  coal,  oil,  gas  lands,  and 
also  lands  where  valuable  metalliferous  deposits  may 
be  reasonably  looked  for. 

The  prospector  is  no  longer  greatly  aided  by  such 
laws.  He  can  be  helped  much  more  by  governmental 
cooperation  and  joint  ownership.  It  seems  timely  that 
the  same  wise  regulations  adopted  for  the  sale  and 
lease  of  lands  belonging  to  the  Indians  should  be  ap- 
plied to  lands  belonging  to  the  people  as  a  whole,  and 
it  is  to  be  hoped  that  Death  Valley,  many  regions  in 
eastern  Utah,  in  the  Rocky  Mountain  regions,  may 
soon  become  Government  mineral  reserves. 


PART  VII 

NATIONAL  AND  STATE  FOREST  POLICY 


THE     WORK    OF    THE    BUREAU    OF 
FORESTRY 

BY 

OVERTON  W.  PRICE 

Associate  Forester,  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture 

I  N  THIS  opportunity  to  say  a  word  to  you  about  the 
^  work  of  the  Bureau  of  Forestry,  I  want  to  go  a 
Httle  further  than  merely  to  catalogue  its  present 
achievement.  Because  it  seems  to  me  that  your  chief 
interest  lies  not  merely  in  what  the  Bureau  has  already 
done.  It  lies  rather  in  the  power  of  the  Bureau  for 
future  accomplishment,  which  its  organization  and  its 
point  of  view  make  possible.  For  although  in  the  light 
of  its  results,  the  achievement  of  the  Bureau  is  tangible 
and  far-reaching,  it  marks  only  a  small  beginning,  in 
the  light  of  the  work  not  yet  done.  And  since  the 
great  bulk  of  the  forest  work  is  ahead  of  us,  I  want 
particularly  to  indicate  how  the  policy  of  the  Bureau 
enables  it  to  assist  in  the  practical  solution  of  the  forest 
problems  still  before  the  great  industries  represented 
here. 

Six  years  ago  the  reorganization  of  the  Bureau  took 
place.  At  that  time,  the  foundation  of  an  individual, 
a  state,  and  a  national  forest  policy  had  in  part  been 
laid,  but  its  practical  application  had  scarcely  begun. 
It  was  the  attitude  of  the  Division  then,  as  it  is  the 
attitude  of  the  Bureau  now,  that  the  printing  press  and 
the  lecture  room  are  not  in  themselves  adequate  to  get 
forestry  generally  into  effect  in  this  country ;  that  the 
urgent  need  is  practical  field  work  with  which  to  meet 
great  forest  problems  on  their  own  ground,  and  that 
the  results  of  this  field  work,  the  practical  solution  of 


356  Proc^e:dings  oi^  th^ 

these  forest  problems,  should  be  published  and  distrib- 
uted for  the  benefit  of  all — therein,  as  the  Bureau  sees 
it,  lies  its  province,  its  duty,  and  its  great  opportunity 
for  usefulness.  Under  this  policy,  the  Division  became 
a  Bureau.  Above  all,  it  is  the  policy  under  v^hich  it 
has  been  able  to  attack  effectively  the  forest  problem 
in  all  its  parts. 

Since  its  reorganization,  the  Bureau  of  Forestry  has 
directed  its  earnest  and  constant  endeavor  along  these 
four  main  lines : 

First.  It  cooperates  by  practical  assistance  and 
advice  in  forest  work  which  not  only  benefits  individual 
cooperators  but  is  of  help  to  many  others. 

Second.  It  attacks,  independently,  those  urgent  for- 
est problems  whose  solution  by  private  enterprise  is 
impossible,  and  thus  becomes  a  national  duty. 

Third.  It  renders  all  assistance  within  its  power  in 
the  best  use  of  the  federal  forest  lands ;  and  finally. 

Fourth.  It  publishes  and  distributes  the  results  of 
its  investigations  for  the  benefit  of  all. 

The  cooperative  work  of  the  Bureau  began  in  Octo- 
ber, 1898,  with  the  offer  of  assistance  to  private  owners 
in  the  handling  of  their  own  lands.  From  this  begin- 
ning it  has  broadened  as  the  direct  result  of  an  insistent 
demand,  until  it  now  offers  assistance  not  only  in  the 
preparation  of  working  plans,  but  also  in  tree-planting, 
either  for  commercial  purposes  or  for  protection,  and 
in  discovering  the  most  conservative  and  profitable 
methods  for  the  use  of  the  products  of  the  forest.  The 
cooperative  state  forest  studies,  which  offer  a  great 
and  increasing  field  for  usefulness,  have  also  grown 
out  of  the  policy  of  the  Bureau's  cooperation  with 
private  owners. 

The  cooperative  work  in  all  its  branches  has  had  two 
important  and  tangible  results :  Not  only  has  it  brought 


American  Forest  Congress  357 

about  the  use  of  new  and  better  methods  on  the 
ground,  but,  above  and  beyond  the  benefit  to  the  indi- 
vidual cooperator,  this  work,  through  the  pubHcation 
of  its  results,  has  been  a  far-reaching  influence  in  fur- 
thering that  understanding  of  the  purpose  and  methods 
of  forestry,  without  which  its  general  application  is 
impossible.  Thus,  the  results  of  the  cooperative  work 
cannot  be  measured  by  the  great  areas  of  forest  land 
now  under  management  as  the  result  of  working  plans 
prepared  by  the  Bureau,  or  the  three  hundred  and 
thirty-four  planting  plans  which  the  Bureau  has  pre- 
pared for  lands  in  fifty-two  states  and  territories. 
In  its  cooperation  with  railroads,  the  Bureau,  at  an 
expense  truly  insignificant  in  comparison  with  the 
value  of  the  results,  has  developed  facts  regarding  the 
preservative  treatment  of  ties  and  construction  timbers 
and  the  profitable  use  of  woods  of  inferior  kinds  whose 
value  is  beyond  estimate  both  to  the  great  transporta- 
tion systems  themselves  and  in  its  decrease  in  the  drain 
upon  our  forests.  In  its  cooperative  state  forest 
studies  the  Bureau's  work  has  in  each  instance  had  a 
definite  and  tangible  result  in  preparing  a  solid  basis 
for  a  comprehensive  state  forest  policy.  But  each 
piece  of  cooperative  work,  whether  with  the  individual, 
the  corporation,  or  the  state ;  whether  in  tree-planting, 
in  working  plans,  or  in  studies  of  forest  products,  is 
justified  not  merely  by  the  direct  benefit  to  the 
cooperator,  but  by  the  acquisition  of  knowledge  for  the 
common  good,  in  which  its  widest  usefulness  lies. 

To  the  statement  that  this  cooperative  work,  valu- 
able as  its  results  may  be,  falls  properly  not  within  the 
sphere  of  the  Government,  but  to  the  private  forester, 
the  answer  is  that  the  Bureau  of  Forestry  took  up  this 
work  only  because  no  private  foresters  were  available 
to  do  it.     It  is  work  which  the  Bureau  has  from  the 


35^  Proceedings  of  the 

beginning  recognized  as  purely  temporary  in  its  char- 
acter. To  postpone  it  until  the  private  forester  was  in 
the  field  would  have  meant  that  the  better  use  of  our 
forests  would  have  been  for  a  long  time  delayed.  The 
area  in  woodlots  and  timber  tracts  in  this  country  is 
approximately  five  hundred  million  acres.  It  is  from 
them  that  our  future  timber  supply  must  chiefly  come. 
And  the  inauguration  of  better  methods  in  their  man- 
agement is  thus  a  national  duty  until  the  private 
forester  is  present  in  sufficient  numbers  to  carry  the 
work.  When  that  time  comes,  the  Bureau  will  step 
aside.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  Bureau  has  by  its 
cooperative  work  not  only  instituted  better  methods 
in  the  use  of  the  forest,  but  it  has  hastened,  by  making 
clear  the  business  advantages  of  these  methods,  the 
growth  of  forestry  as  a  commercial  enterprise,  and 
hence  the  employment  of  the  private  forester.  And 
right  there  it  is  significant  that,  with  very  few  excep- 
tions, the  private  foresters  employed  in  this  country 
to-day  owe  their  work  either  to  the  recommendation 
of  the  Bureau  of  Forestry  or  as  the  direct  result  of  its 
cooperative  work. 

The  second  line  of  endeavor  which  it  is  the  duty  of 
the  Bureau  of  Forestry  to  follow  is  that  of  independent 
investigation.  This  embraces  the  solution  of  those 
urgent  forest  problems  which  are  beyond  the  scope, 
the  means,  or  the  trained  knowledge  of  the  individual, 
but  which  confront  him,  and  through  him  materially 
afifect  the  development  of  the  great  industries.  Just 
as  it  is  the  duty  of  the  Government  through  the  United 
States  Geological  Survey  to  map  this  country,  so  is  it 
also  the  duty  of  the  Government  through  the  Bureau 
of  Forestry  to  put  in  the  hands  of  the  people  knowledge 
essential  to  the  best  use  of  the  forest,  and  as  unobtain- 
able through  private  enterprise  only  as  are  the  maps. 


American  Forest  Congress  359 

The  Bureau  of  Plant  Industry,  of  Animal  Industry,  of 
Soils — the  scientific  work  of  the  Government  through- 
out— conducts  studies  national  in  their  importance 
whose  solution  is  beyond  the  power  of  the  individual. 
In  exactly  the  same  way,  the  Bureau  of  Forestry 
attacks  those  forest  problems  necessary  to  the  perma- 
nent prosperity  of  all  industries  dependent  upon  wood 
and  water.  Under  this  policy  the  Bureau  is  conducting 
studies  of  commercial  trees,  since  the  published  results 
of  these  studies  serve  as  a  basis  for  working  plans,  as 
a  source  of  useful  information  to  lumbermen,  and  as  a 
valuable  contribution  to  our  knowledge  of  American 
forests.  It  is  conducting  independent  studies  of  forest 
fires  as  a  means  for  the  solution  of  the  urgent  national 
problems  which  they  present,  both  in  the  form  of  legis- 
lation which  will  be  effective  against  forest  fires  and 
in  methods  for  their  prevention  and  control. 

In  its  timber  tests  the  Bureau  of  Forestry  is  supply- 
ing an  urgent  need  of  fuller  technical  knowledge  of 
the  strength  of  our  commercial  timbers,  and  is  thus 
paving  the  way  for  economy  in  their  use  as  well  as  in 
the  woods. 

In  the  preparation  of  forest  yield  and  volume  tables 
the  Bureau  is  laying  the  foundation  for  conservative 
forest  management  in  all  parts  of  this  country.  In  its 
forest  maps,  its  dendrological  studies,  and  in  many 
other  ways,  it  is  equipping  the  great  industries  depen- 
dent upon  the  forest  with  knowledge  essential  to  their 
development. 

In  the  third  line  of  its  endeavor,  the  rendering  of 
all  assistance  within  its  power  in  the  best  use  of  the 
Government  forest  lands,  the  Bureau  is  to  the  full 
extent  of  the  province  which  legislation  has  entrusted 
to  it  giving  assistance  and  advice  in  the  management 
not  only  of  the  national  reserves,  but  also  of  Indian 


360  Proceedings  o^  the 

and  military  reservations.  Briefly  outlined,  this  assist- 
ance has  been  as  follows : 

On  December  7,  1899,  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior 
requested  the  Secretary  of  Agriculture  for  advice  upon 
technical  questions  envolved  in  the  administration  of 
the  reserves.  The  work  of  the  Bureau  of  Forestry 
under  this  request  has  increased  steadily  in  volume  and 
scope,  until  at  present  practically  all  technical  questions 
involved  in  the  administration  of  the  reserves  are 
referred  to  it. 

During  the  past  two  years  practically  all  of  the 
recommendations  for  new  forest  reserves  and  changes 
in  the  boundaries  of  existing  forest  reserves  either 
originated  with  or  were  submitted  directly  by  the 
Bureau  of  Forestry.  Since  it  took  up  this  line  of 
work  the  Bureau  has  examined  130  separate  areas 
proposed  as  forest  reserves  or  as  additions  to  existing 
reserves. 

Regulations  for  grazing  recommended  by  the  Bureau 
are  now  in  effect  on  two  forest  reserves  in  Utah  and 
on  four  forest  reserves  in  Arizona. 

Six  members  of  the  Bureau  were  loaned  to  the  for- 
estry division  of  the  General  Land  Office  for  periods 
of  from  one  year  to  fourteen  months  (1902-1903). 
One  of  these  members  was  chief  of  that  division,  two 
were  inspectors,  and  two  were  head  rangers. 

Under  the  request  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior, 
studies  have  been  made  of  several  Indian  reservations, 
and  recommendations  submitted  for  their  forest  man- 
agement. The  Bureau  has  also  prepared  detailed 
working  plans  for  the  Prescott,  Black  Hills,  Big  Horn, 
and  Priest  River  forest  reserves. 

To  sum  up,  the  principles  and  practice  recommended 
by  the  Bureau  to  govern  the  administration  of  the 
national   forest   reserves  have  been  approved  by  the 


American  Forest  Congress  361 

Department  of  the  Interior.  The  Bureau  is  now  the 
recognized  source  of  information  upon  the  suitabiHty 
of  lands  for  forest  reserves  or  of  changes  in  the  boun- 
daries of  existing  reserves,  for  working  plans  for  the 
management  of  the  reserves,  and  for  special  reports 
upon  grazing  and  other  matters  involved  in  their 
administration.  In  no  case  has  the  Bureau  mixed  in 
the  details  of  reserve  management.  It  has  dealt  exclu- 
sively with  matters  of  policy. 

In  its  work  under  the  Morris  bill  the  Bureau  has 
proved  that  conservative  lumbering  pays  in  the  pine 
region  of  northern  Minnesota.  It  was  charged  with 
drawing  up  the  regulations  for  conservative  lumbering 
and  with  their  enforcement  upon  lands  which,  after 
they  have  been  lumbered,  will  constitute  the  Minnesota 
National  Forest  Reserve.  The  result  has  proved  that 
the  Bureau  of  Forestry  can  institute  and  conduct 
successfully  large  administrative  duties  in  forest  man- 
agement. 

In  the  fourth  branch  of  its  work,  the  publication  of 
the  results  of  its  investigations  for  the  benefit  of  all, 
the  Bureau  has  distributed  well  on  toward  2,000,000 
copies  of  its  bulletins,  circulars,  and  reports.  I  do  not 
wish  to  inflict  too  much  statistical  information  regard- 
ing publications  upon  you.  But  the  distribution  of 
publications  is  in  large  measure  a  test  of  the  Bureau's 
usefulness,  and  the  demand  for  them  a  proof  of  the 
appreciation  of  its  work.  And  I  want  to  give  you 
enough  facts  to  show,  both  that  the  publications  are 
going  out  and  that  they  are  being  read  and  used. 
Although  the  regular  editions  have  been  largely 
increased  in  order  to  meet  the  demand,  no  less  than 
seventy-seven  reprints  have  been  required  to  satisfy  it. 
A  notable  example  of  the  scope  of  this  demand  is  The 
Primer  of  Forestry,  of  which  the  first  edition  of  35,000 


362  Proceedings  of  the 

was  authorized  by  congressional  action.  Two  editions 
of  10,000  each  have  since  been  printed,  and  since  they, 
too,  proved  insufficient,  a  Farmers'  Bulletin  edition 
became  necessary.  Of  this,  170,000,  in  eight  editions, 
have  been  printed,  making  the  total  issue  of  the  Primer 
to  the  present  time  225,000  copies.  Another  instance 
is  The  Woodman's  Handbook,  a  compilation  of  log 
scales  and  rules  for  forest  measurements.  The  first 
edition  of  15,000  was  not  off  the  press  before  the 
necessity  for  an  additional  supply  was  realized,  and 
before  the  demand  began  to  slacken,  25,000  copies,  in 
three  editions,  were  printed.  The  circulars  giving  the 
Bureau's  offers  of  cooperation  have  passed  through  the 
press  sixteen  times  in  all,  with  a  total  issue  of  123,000. 

To  sum  up,  the  Bureau  is  not  only  the  direct  and 
prevailing  force  behind  the  forest  movement  in  this 
country,  but  it  is  furthering  the  application  of  those 
new  and  better  methods  on  the  ground  without  which 
the  broadest,  the  most  enlightened  forest  policy  will 
utterly  fail.  It  has,  in  my  judgment,  reached  its  pres- 
ent achievement,  and  it  possesses  its  power  of  future 
achievement,  as  the  direct  result  not  only  of  an  ade- 
quate organization  and  a  comprehensive  point  of  view, 
but  above  all  because  it  keeps  the  practical  aspect  of 
its  work  constantly  before  it;  because  its  policy  is  not 
one  of  arbitrary  interference,  but  to  bring  about  a 
relation  between  the  forest  and  the  interests  dependent 
upon  it  which  develops  the  highest  usefulness  and  the 
highest  permanent  profit  from  them  both. 

One  of  the  most  gratifying  features  of  the  work  of 
the  Bureau,  full  of  promise  for  its  further  usefulness, 
is,  that  in  spite  of  the  overwhelming  demands  upon  it 
and  of  the  utter  impossibility,  with  the  men  and  the 
money  at  its  disposal,  to  meet  all  these  demands,  the 
technical   standard   of   its   work   has   grown   steadily 


American  Forest  Congress  363 

higher.  The  Bureau  has  fallen  into  no  rut  of  routine 
in  field  work.  Its  methods  in  the  field  and  in  the  office 
as  well  are  thus  showing  year  by  year  improvement 
which  corresponds  directly  with  the  added  experience 
of  its  men  and  the  added  funds  at  its  disposal.  The 
net  result  is  a  constant  gain  in  effectiveness. 

I  have  said  very  little  about  the  past  achievement  of 
the  Bureau  because  you  have  that  in  its  bulletins,  in  its 
reports,  and  you  find  it  in  the  woods  on  the  ground. 
But  unless  I  have  entirely  failed,  the  points  I  hope  I 
have  made  clear  are  these :  that  the  policy  of  the 
Bureau  is  to  help  every  man  in  the  use  of  the  forest 
or  of  its  products;  that  the  Bureau  stands  ready  to 
take  up  with  you  the  solution  of  the  forest  problem 
confronting  you,  whatever  it  may  be,  and  to  take  it  up 
not  academically,  not  theoretically,  but  practically,  with 
due  regard  not  only  for  the  preservation  of  the  forest 
but  for  the  business  advantage  of  the  interests  depen- 
dent upon  it.  That  point  of  view  has  alone  made  the 
present  achievement  of  the  Bureau  possible.  It  is  a 
guarantee  of  still  wider  usefulness  in  the  future, 
because  it  means  that  you  and  the  Bureau  can  begin 
the  larger  work  ahead,  can  face  new  forest  problems 
as  they  come,  not  singly,  as  a  purely  governmental 
enterprise  on  the  one  side,  or  by  private  endeavor  on 
the  other,  but  together,  in  active  and  effective  accord 
on  the  same  ground. 


WORK  OF  THE  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 
IN  MAPPING  THE  RESERVES 

BY 
CHARLES  D.  WALCOTT 

Director  of  the  United  States  Geological  Survey 

f  HAVE  been  asked  many  times  during  the  last  seven 
years  how  it  came  about  that  the  Geological 
Survey  was  taking  part  in  matters  pertaining  to  the 
Government  forest  reserves;  and  I  am  glad  to  have 
the  opportunity  to  give  to  this  notable  Congress  some 
of  the  reasons  for  the  activity  of  the  Survey  in  this 
direction,  and  to  record  what  has  been  done  by  it  in 
surveying  and  examining  the  reserves. 

Let  me  first  speak  very  briefly  of  the  influences  and 
events  that  led  to  the  Survey's  taking  up  the  work 
assigned  to  it  by  the  Congress  of  the  United  States. 
Not  many  years  ago  one  of  our  leading  foresters  said 
that,  apparently,  the  forest  policy  of  the  Government 
had  been  to  get  rid  of  the  land  and  that  of  the  people 
to  get  rid  of  the  timber ;  but  within  the  last  decade  the 
country  has  awakened  to  a  realization  of  the  vast 
importance  of  its  woodlands.  Perhaps  most  influential 
in  this  awakening  were  the  American  Forestry  Associ- 
ation and  the  Division  of  Forestry  of  the  Department 
of  Agriculture,  under  the  leadership  of  Dr.  Bernhard 
E.  Fernow.  From  these  organizations  there  came 
many  reports,  essays,  and  lectures  on  the  subject,  and 


American  Forest  Congress  365 

these  had  a  strong  influence  in  creating  the  pubHc 
sentiment  that  at  last  manifested  itself  in  the  passage, 
on  March  3,  1891,  of  an  act  granting  authority  to  the 
President  to  set  aside  as  public  reservations  public 
lands  bearing  forests,  wholly  or  in  part  covered  with 
timber  or  undergrowth.  (Stat.  L.,  vol.  26,  p.  1103, 
sec.  24.)  Under  this  act  seventeen  forest  reserves 
were  established  prior  to  September  28,  1893,  aggre- 
gating in  area  17,564,800  acres. 

The  establishment  of  these  reserves  did  not  excite 
any  special  approval  or  disapproval  of  the  policy, 
except  as  some  local  interest  was  affected  favorably 
or  unfavorably.  In  the  latter  case,  little  attention  was 
given  the  matter  by  the  parties  directly  concerned,  for 
there  was  no  real  protection  of  the  reserves  by  patrol, 
and  the  cutting  of  timber  and  the  destruction  by  fires 
went  on  as  before.  But  by  executive  proclamations 
of  February  22,  1897,  based  upon  recommendations  of 
the  Forestry  Commission  of  the  National  Academy 
of  Sciences,  there  were  established  thirteen  additional 
forest  reserves,  containing  an  aggregate  of  21,379,840 
acres.  This  action  was  followed  by  strong  opposition 
to  the  policy,  especially  in  the  Northwestern  States,  in 
which  many  of  the  reserves  were  situated. 

In  the  letter  recommending  the  establishment  of  the 
forest  reserves  the  Forestry  Commission  stated,  in 
effect,  that  it  had  purposely  recommended  very  large 
reserves  in  order  to  create  a  public  sentiment  which 
would  cause  Congress  to  enact  laws  securing  the 
proper  administration  of  the  reserves.  The  result  of 
establishing  the  reserves  more  than  met  the  anticipa- 
tions of  the  commission  that  legislation  would  follow, 
owing  to  the  pressure  of  the  people  on  their  repre- 
sentatives in  Congress.  The  first  storm  of  protest 
came  mainly  from  South  Dakota,  Wyoming,  Montana, 


3^6  Proceedings  of  the 

and  Washington.  Early  in  March,  Congress  inserted 
in  the  Sundry  Civil  Bill  an  amendment  revoking  the 
forest-reserve  proclamations  of  February  22,  1897,  and 
repealing  the  authority  for  setting  aside  public  forested 
lands  as  reserves ;  but  the  bill  failed,  because  President 
Cleveland  did  not  sign  it ;  and  when  the  new  Congress 
assembled  on  March  15,  1897,  the  agitation  against 
the  reserves  was  resumed. 

My  predecessor.  Major  J.  W.  Powell,  was  much 
interested  in  the  forests  of  the  country,  but  did  not 
take  an  active  part  in  shaping  the  policy  of  the  Govern- 
ment control  or  administration  of  forest  lands.  I  had 
kept  in  touch  with  the  general  movement  for  the 
preservation  of  the  forests,  and  with  the  commission 
of  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences,  of  which  Mr. 
Gifford  Pinchot  was  secretary ;  also  with  the  members 
of  Congress  who  were  especially  interested  in  the  com- 
mission's recommendations,  and  knew  the  sentiment 
these  recommendations  had  developed.  After  the 
attack  on  the  policy  of  forest  reserves  in  the  spring  of 
1897,  I  found  that  the  National  Academy  commission 
could  not  take  further  action,  and  that  nothing  was 
being  done  by  the  forestry  officers  of  the  Government 
toward  urging  constructive  legislation  and  combating 
the  movement  to  repeal  the  law  and  return  the  forest 
reserves  to  the  open  public  domain.  After  consulta- 
tion with  a  number  of  senators  from  the  Western 
States,  I  drew  up,  at  the  suggestion  of  Senator  Petti- 
grew,  of  South  Dakota,  an  amendment  providing  for 
the  survey  and  administration  of  the  forest  reserves. 
The  administrative  features  of  the  amendment  were 
based  upon  previously  proposed  but  not  enacted  legis- 
lation, and  upon  the  recommendations  of  the  commis- 
sion of  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences,  modified  to 
meet  conditions  in  April,  1897.    The  preliminary  draft 


American  Forest  Congress  367 

was  then  thoroughly  examined  by  and  discussed  with 
Senator  Pettigrew.*  The  amendment  met  with  the  ap- 
proval of  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior  and  of  the  Presi- 
dent, and  it  was  introduced  in  the  Senate  in  a  modified 
form  by  Senator  Pettigrew  on  April  6,  1897,  as  a  pro- 
posed amendment  to  the  Sundry  Civil  Bill  and  was  re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Appropriations.  On  April  8, 
1897,  Senator  Pettigrew  offered  the  amendment  as 
originally  prepared,  and  it  was  referred  to  the  Com- 


*  HoTEi.  Victoria,  New  York  City, 
January  ii,  1905. 
Charles  D.  Walcott,  Esq., 

U.  S.  Geological  Survey, 

Washington,  D.  C. 
My  Dear   Sir: 

Your  letter  of  January  ist  has  just  reached  me,  too  late,  I 
suppose,  for  me  to  be  of  use  to  you  in  connection  with  the 
Forestry  Congress.  I  think  your  account  of  the  amendment 
to  the  Sundry  Civil  Bill  with  regard  to  the  administration  of 
the  forests  of  the  United  States  is  substantially  correct.  I 
was  the  author  of  the  legislation  of  1891,  authorizing  the 
President  to  set  apart  forest  reservations  out  of  the  public 
domain,  and  therefore  always  in  favor  of  a  policy  which  should 
protect  these  forests  and  perpetuate  them,  so  that  they  would 
grow  better  year  by  year. 

I  studied  with  great  care  Napoleon's  method  for  administer- 
ing the  forests  of  France;  I  also  investigated  the  English 
policy  in  India,  and  the  policy  pursued  by  the  Austrian  Gov- 
ernment, and  I  reviewed  and  slightly  amended  the  suggestions 
which  you  made  to  what  is  now  the  existing  law.  I  remember 
my  colleague,  Senator  Moody,  made  such  modifications  and 
amendments  as  it  seemed  to  me  were  not  advisable,  and  that 
you  and  I  together  went  over  the  manuscript  and  struck  them 
out;  that  the  result  of  our  joint  labor  was  the  law  as  it  now 
stands,  under  which  the  forests  are  administered. 

For  my  part  I  should  be  pleased  if  all  the  forest  lands,  and 
all  the  other  lands  now  owned  by  the  Government  of  the 
United  States,  were  withdrawn  from  sale  and  were  admin- 
istered by  the  Government,  so  that  the  title  w»uld  remain 
forever  in  the  Government  for  the  benefit  of  the  people  of  the 
United  States.  Very  truly  yours, 

(Signed)     R.  F.  PETTIGREW. 


368  Proceedings  of  the 

mittee  on  Forest  Reserves  and  the  Protection  of  Game. 
The  amendment  of  April  8  was  reported  back  to  the 
Senate  by  the  latter  committee  with  favorable  recom- 
mendation. 

When  the  Sundry  Civil  Bill  was  under  consideration 
in  the  Senate  on  May  5,  1897,  Mr.  Pettigrew  offered 
the  amendment  of  April  8  as  an  amendment  to  an 
appropriation  for  the  Geological  Survey.  (Congres- 
sional Record,  vol.  30,  p.  899.)  After  discussion  in 
the  Senate,  it  was  accepted  on  May  6  (Congressional 
Record,  p.  908-925)  and  soon  after  went  to  the  Con- 
ference Committee  of  the  Senate  and  House  on  the 
Sundry  Civil  Bill,  where  minor  amendments  were 
made  to  the  provision  for  the  administration  of  the 
forest  reserves.  On  May  27  the  Senate  agreed  to  the 
conference  report  (Congressional  Record,  p.  1278- 
1285),  and  on  June  i  the  House  of  Representatives 
accepted  it.  (Congressional  Record,  p.  1 397-1 401.) 
On  June  4  the  President  approved  the  Sundry  Civil 
Bill,  and  thus  completed  the  legislation  providing  for 
the  survey  and  administration  of  the  forest  reserves 
of  the  United  States. 

The  period  from  March  4,  when  President  Cleveland 
killed  the  scheme  to  revoke  all  forest  reserve  procla- 
mations, to  June  4,  when  President  McKinley  signed 
the  act  containing  the  forest  reserve  legislation,  was 
a  strenuous  one  for  those  directly  interested  in  the 
protection  and  utilization  of  the  public  forests.  Con- 
ferences were  held  at  the  office  of  the  Secretary  of  the 
Interior,  Cornelius  N.  Bliss,  and  many  hours  of  anxious 
suspense  followed  the  formulation  of  a  plan  that  met 
with  the  approbation  of  the  department  and  of  the 
members  of  Congress  from  the  western  states  directly 
affected  by  the  forest  reserve  policy.  The  new  law 
was  not  ideal,  but  it  was  all  that  could  be  obtained 
under  the  conditions  then  existing. 


American  Forest  Congress  369 

The  administration  of  the  forest  reserves  was  placed 
in  charge  of  Commissioner  Binger  Hermann,  of  the 
General  Land  Office,  and  continued  in  his  charge  until 
1903,  when  Commissioner  Richards  succeeded  him. 
The  surveys  and  examinations  of  the  reserves  were, 
by  the  act,  placed  under  the  Geological  Survey. 

The  survey  of  the  reserves  was  begun  in  1897  and 
has  continued  to  the  present  time.  The  results,  briefly 
stated,  are  as  follows: 

Five  reserves  have  been  completely  mapped — the 
Black  Hills,  South  Dakota-Wyoming;  Bighorn,  Wyo- 
ming; Teton, Wyoming  (now  a  part  of  the  Yellowstone 
Reserve)  ;  Santa  Rita  and  Prescott,  Arizona ;  and 
work  has  been  commenced  in  twenty-nine  other 
reserves. 

The  boundary  lines  of  the  Black  Hills,  Bighorn, 
Aquarius,  Logan,  and  Pocatello  reserves  have  been 
completely  surveyed  and  marked  with  iron  posts;  also 
parts  of  the  Lewis  and  Clarke,  Washington,  Mount 
Ranier,  Madison  and  Payson,  and  Black  Mesa  and 
Mount  Graham  reserves  have  been  surveyed,  com- 
prising 1,328  miles  of  boundary  line.  In  connection 
with  this,  there  have  been  surveyed  1,976  miles  of 
standard  and  subdivision  lines  of  various  kinds,  for 
which  notes  and  plats  have  been  filed  in  the  General 
Land  Office,  as  required  by  law. 

Reconnaissance  maps  have  been  made  of  the  entire 
Lewis  and  Clarke,  Bitter  Root,  and  Priest  River  re- 
serves, comprising  an  area  of  over  12,000  square  miles. 

The  total  area  mapped  for  publication  as  regular 
atlas  sheets,  on  scales  of  one  or  two  miles  to  the  inch, 
in  and  adjacent  to  forest  reserves,  is  48,963  square 
miles  (not  including  12,072  square  miles  of  reconnais- 
sance maps),  in  connection  with  which  12,679  miles 
of  levels  were  run  and  2,983  permanent  bench  marks 


Z70  Procee:dings  of  the 

were  established.  This  area  comprises  sixty-seven 
whole  and  five  partial  atlas  sheets. 

In  the  act  of  Congress  creating  the  Geological 
Survey  the  director  is  charged,  among  other  things, 
with  the  classification  of  the  public  lands.  The  work 
done  under  the  forest  reserve  legislation  was  therefore 
in  strict  accord  with  one  of  the  original  purposes  of 
the  Survey. 

Cruisings  by  private  parties  for  private  purposes 
have  been  made  in  this  country  for  many  years,  but 
the  work  here  briefly  described  is  the  first  attempt  to 
estimate  and  report  upon  the  forests  on  a  large  scale 
for  the  information  of  the  public. 

The  field  force  employed  in  the  examination  of 
forests  has  varied  in  different  years,  and  most  of  the 
men  have  been  employed  for  a  part  of  the  year  only. 
This  work  being  the  first  attempt  to  accurately  examine 
and  appraise  the  forests  of  this  country,  it  was  neces- 
sary^ both  to  build  up  an  organization  and  to  originate 
plans  and  methods  for  field  work  and  for  presentation 
of  the  results  in  reports  and  maps. 

The  work  consists  in  the  classification  of  lands  as 
arable,  pasture,  desert,  wooded,  and  timbered,  timber 
land  being  defined  as  that  bearing  timber  of  merchant- 
able size  and  quality,  while  wooded  land  bears  only 
trees  of  sizes  and  species  suitable  for  firewood,  posts, 
poles,  etc.  The  timber  land  has  been  roughly  cruised 
to  learn  the  approximate  stand  of  timber,  with  the 
stand  per  acre ;  the  species  of  trees,  with  the  proportion 
which  each  species  bears  to  the  total  forest,  and  the 
average  height,  diameter,  age,  and  condition  of  the 
trees.  The  lands  on  which  the  timber  has  been  cut  or 
culled  have  also  been  defined,  and  the  amount  and 
character  of  the  undergrowth,  with  its  various  species, 
and  the  depth  of  humus  and  litter  on  the  forest  floor, 
have  been  examined. 


American  Forest  Congress  371 

The  subject  of  fires,  both  ancient  and  recent,  with 
their  effects  upon  the  present  forest,  has  been  carefully 
studied,  and  the  accounts  of  large  fires  in  times  past 
have  been  recorded.  A  study  has  been  made  of  the 
streams  as  means  of  transporting  lumber,  and  the  lay 
of  the  country  has  been  considered  with  a  view  to  the 
building  of  roads  and  railroads  for  lumbering  pur- 
poses. The  question  of  existing  and  future  markets 
for  the  forest  products  has  also  been  studied.  The 
effects  of  grazing,  especially  the  grazing  of  sheep,  upon 
the  present  forests,  and  their  reproduction,  have  been 
carefully  investigated.  The  purpose  of  these  exam- 
inations has  been  to  ascertain  the  economic  value  of 
the  lands  and  the  forests. 

Reports  on  the  areas  examined  have  been  prepared 
and  published,  the  earlier  ones  in  volumes  of  the 
annual  reports  of  the  Survey  and  the  later  ones  as 
professional  papers.  These  reports  are  illustrated  by 
maps  showing  the  classification  of  the  lands  and  the 
stand  of  timber  per  acre  upon  the  forested  lands.  For 
this  purpose  the  atlas  sheets  of  the  Survey  are  used,  if 
completed.  The  reports  are  also  illustrated  by  dia- 
grams showing  the  stand  of  timber  per  township  and 
the  proportional  distribution  of  the  species  represented. 
The  map  and  the  diagram  together  tell  a  large  part  of 
the  story  of  the  reserve. 

During  the  last  eight  years  there  has  been  examined 
a  total  of  about  75,000,000  acres,  or  117,000  square 
miles.  This  area  includes  nearly  all  the  reserves  in 
the  country,  besides  great  extents  of  land  adjoining 
them,  and  other  regions  which  have  been  withheld 
from  settlement  with  the  expectation  of  reserving 
them. 

Among  these  regions  one  was  examined  jointly  with 
the  Bureau  of  Forestry  of  the  Department  of  Agricul- 


372  Proceedings  of  the 

ture  and  the  Geological  Survey  of  North  Carolina.  It 
is  a  region  of  about  8,000  square  miles  in  the  Southern 
Appalachian  Mountains.  A  report  on  this  region  will 
soon  appear,  and  it  will  be  particularly  interesting 
because  it  is  the  first  study  of  its  kind  ever  made  of 
the  southern  forests,  which  are  characterized  by  a 
great  variety  and  mixture  of  species. 

A  branch  of  the  Geological  Survey  which  has  been 
much  concerned  with  the  forests  and  their  preservation 
is  the  hydrographic.  It  is  now  understood  by  every- 
body that  the  occurrence  and  control  of  waters  above 
and  below  the  earth's  surface  are  largely  dependent 
on  woodland  conditions.  The  protection  of  the  forests 
and  woodlands  is  one  of  the  first  matters  to  be  consid- 
ered in  any  water-supply  problem,  and  the  study  of 
the  quantity  and  quality  of  water  available  for  irriga- 
tion, power,  and  domestic  and  municipal  purposes 
touches  the  domain  of  the  forester. 

In  1888  the  director  of  the  Survey  was  authorized 
to  investigate  the  extent  to  which  the  arid  lands  might 
be  reclaimed.  Surveys  of  reservoir  sites  and  of  the 
catchment  basins  of  streams  were  begun,  and  it  was 
seen  that  it  would  be  necessary  to  withdraw  and  hold 
permanently  many  of  the  forested  areas  above  the 
reservoirs  at  the  sources  of  the  rivers.  At  all  times 
there  has  been  close  cooperation  between  the  engineers 
engaged  in  studies  of  water  supply  and  the  men  inves- 
tigating the  forest  reserves. 

Upon  the  passage  of  the  Reclamation  Act  of  June 
17,  1902,  and  the  organization  of  the  Reclamation 
Service  as  a  part  of  the  Geological  Survey,  the 
question  of  the  extent  and  preservation  of  forest 
reserves  assumed  increased  importance.  The  scientific 
investigations  of  water  supply  were  supplemented  by 
authority  to  build  great  works,  and  there  followed  the 


American  Forest  Congress  373 

necessity  of  protecting  these  works  by  every  available 
natural  resource.  These  great  works  might  be  seri- 
ously injured  if  individuals  were  permitted  to  come  in 
above  them  and  secure  vested  rights  inimical  to  the 
larger  irrigation  interests  of  the  country ;  therefore  the 
Reclamation  Service  has  asked  that  large  areas  of 
public  land  embracing  forests  or  woodlands  be  with- 
drawn and  held  permanently,  so  that  there  might  be 
no  interference  with  the  larger  development  of  the 
waters. 

In  mapping  the  forest  reserves  and  in  recommending 
their  boundaries  all  the  large  matters  of  this  character 
have  been  taken  into  consideration.  Frequently  an 
individual,  looking  at  the  matter  from  his  standpoint, 
is  inclined  to  criticise  the  drawing  of  boundaries  and 
to  assert  that  too  much  land  has  been  included ;  but  if 
he  would  study  the  problem  from  the  community  or 
public  standpoint  he  would  find  that  this  land  is  of 
great  importance  in  connection  with  the  control  of  the 
water  supply  necessary  to  the  development  of  a  recla- 
mation project. 

By  carefully  and  systematically  permitting  the 
younger  growth  to  accumulate,  and  perhaps  by  seeding 
the  steeper  barren  slopes,  it  will  be  possible  to  reduce 
the  destructive  efifects  of  the  so-called  cloudbursts  or 
local  storms  which  wash  the  loose  soil  into  the  reser- 
voirs or  clog  the  hydraulic  works.  The  beneficial 
effect  of  this  protection  is  well  understood  and  every 
reasonable  effort  is  being  made  to  bring  about  the  best 
possible  conditions  in  the  catchment  basins  of  the 
streams. 

Abundance  of  wood  is  one  of  the  prime  necessities 
for  successful  mining.  There  are  four  chief  factors 
in  the  mining  enterprise — the  value  of  the  ore,  the  cost 
of  production,  the  cost  of  transportation,  and  the  cost 

M 


374  Proceedings  oi^  the 

of  reduction ;  and  the  sum  of  the  last  three  must  be 
less  than  the  first,  or  the  mine  will  be  closed.  Mining, 
properly  understood,  is  a  business  in  which  the  profits 
or  losses  are  the  result  of  the  balance  of  these  condi- 
tions, not  an  excavation  of  treasure  whose  enormous 
value  renders  other  considerations  insignificant.  Now, 
in  the  three  costs  above  enumerated,  the  principal 
elements  are  water  and  wood. 

The  cost  of  production  includes  labor,  power  (for 
hoisting,  drilling,  etc.),  the  mine  plant  (including  all 
the  necessary  buildings),  timbering,  and  supplies. 
Where  wood  is  scarce  or  absent  the  price  of  building 
is  enormous;  rents  and  fuel  are  high,  and  the  price  of 
labor  must  be  correspondingly  increased.  Probably 
the  highest  wages  paid  to  miners  in  the  United  States 
are  paid  in  the  desert;  for  example,  in  the  camp  of 
Tonopah,  in  Nevada,  where  everyone  underground 
receives  four  dollars  per  day.  In  this  camp  also  the 
cost  of  power  for  hoisting  is  very  high ;  the  people 
are  forced  to  use  largely  gasoline  or  petroleum,  which 
must  be  brought  a  long  distance  with  heavy  transpor- 
tation charges.  The  cost  of  the  plant  is  proportional, 
a  moderate-sized  frame  building  costing  $15,000  to 
$30,000;  so  that  stone  and  iron  have  been  largely  used 
in  construction,  at  a  burdensome  cost. 

Timbering  in  most  mines  is  an  important  factor.  In 
the  early  history  of  the  Georgetown  (Colorado)  mines, 
timbers  were  hauled  by  bull  wagon  from  Iowa,  until 
it  was  found  that  the  native  wood,  though  inferior, 
could  yet  be  used.  Vast  quantities  of  wood  are  used 
for  timbering  in  most  large  mining  plants,  and  the 
price  of  the  timber  is  one  of  the  important  factors  in 
striking  the  balance  of  profit  or  loss.  Thus  the  neigh- 
borhood of  a  forest  and  the  character  of  the  wood  in 
that  forest  are  of  great  importance. 


American  Forest  Congress  375 

As  to  the  cost  of  transportation,  that,  too,  is  invari- 
ably increased,  other  things  being  equal,  by  the  scarcity 
of  wood.  If  the  bringing  in  of  supplies  and  the  taking 
out  of  ores  is  done  by  wagon,  the  high  price  of  labor 
above  referred  to  brings  up  the  cost  of  haulage ;  if  by 
rail,  the  heavy  cost  of  ties  for  the  road-bed  and  fuel 
for  locomotives  renders  a  high  scale  of  charges  una- 
voidable. 

The  cost  of  reduction  is,  for  a  given  quality  of  ore, 
almost  entirely  dependent  upon  wood  and  water.  In 
many  a  somewhat  remote  mining  district,  if  wood  can 
be  obtained  for  running  a  mill,  the  ore  is  profitable ;  if 
not,  the  enterprise  must  be  abandoned.  At  the  desert 
camp  of  Silver  Peak,  in  Nevada,  vast  quantities  of 
fair-grade  gold  ore  exist,  suitable  for  stamp  milling 
and  amalgamation ;  enough  water  is  available  for  such 
mills,  but  the  great  cost  of  fuel  has  hitherto  stunned 
mining  operations.  When  an  occasional  mill-run  is 
made,  in  an  old  mill  in  this  locality,  the  high  neigh- 
boring mountains  are  scoured  for  scrubby  pine,  much 
of  which  is  brought  miles  on  the  backs  of  burros,  with 
the  result  that  after  a  run  the  balance  is  as  apt  to  be 
on  the  loss  side  as  on  the  profit.  Such  deposits  in  a 
wooded  country  like  California  would  form  the  foun- 
dation of  a  great  mining  industry. 

The  miner  has  a  great  and  vital  interest  in  the  per- 
manent preservation  of  the  forests  and  in  their  intel- 
ligent utilization,  second  only  to  that  of  the  irrigation 
farmer.  He  should  be  one  of  the  strongest  supporters 
of  the  Government  in  its  attempt  to  preserve  our 
woodlands  and  make  them  useful  to  all  interests. 

The  saving  of  the  wood  of  the  living  forests  by  the 
utilization  of  the  lignites  formed  of  the  forests  of 
Tertiary  time  is  desirable  if  it  can  be  done,  and  I  have 
little  doubt  that  it  can  and  will  be  done;  it  is  only  a 


376  Proceedings  of  the 

question  of  a  relatively  short  period  of  time.  The  way 
to  do  it  has  been  ascertained.  It  remains  for  enterprise 
and  capital  to  develop  and  utilize  the  vast  power  resi- 
dent in  the  lignitic  coals  of  the  West. 

The  Geological  Survey  has  been  conducting  at  the 
Louisiana  Purchase  Exposition  a  series  of  experiments 
in  the  combustion  of  coal  and  lignites."^  This  experi- 
mental work  has  been  carried  on  under  special  author- 
ization of  Congress  for  "testing  and  analyzing  the 
coals  and  lignites  of  the  United  States  to  determine 
the  most  economical  method  for  their  utilization."  One 
of  the  most  interesting  results  brought  out  in  the 
course  of  this  investigation  has  been  the  practical 
demonstration  of  the  method  for  using  the  large 
supplies  of  lignite  which  exist  between  the  Mississippi 
River  and  the  Rocky  Mountain  states,  and  which,  on 
account  of  its  high  percentage  of  moisture,  make  most 
unsatisfactory  fuel  under  ordinary  processes  of  com- 
bustion. It  has  been  shown,  however,  that  the  very 
qualities  which  appear  to  unfit  this  lignite  for  use  by 
direct  combustion  tend  toward  the  improvement  of  the 
quality  of  the  gas  made  from  it  in  the  gas  producer. 
In  the  manufacture  of  what  is  known  as  producer  gas 
all  of  the  combustible  material  in  the  coal  fed  into  the 
producer  is  utilized.  The  quality  of  the  gas  obtained 
is  measured  by  its  value  in  British  thermal  units  (B.  T. 
U's.)  One  B.  T.  U.  is  the  amount  of  heat  required  to 
raise  one  pound  of  water  one  degree  in  temperature 
Fahrenheit.      Ordinary   bituminous   coals   make   pro- 


*  This  work  has  been  in  charge  of  a  committee  composed  of 
the  following  members  of  the  Geological  Survey:  Mr.  E.  W. 
Parker,  Chairman,  coal  expert  and  statistician;  Dr.  J.  A. 
Holmes,  geologist  and  chief  of  Department  of  Mines  and 
Metallurgy,  St.  Louis  Exposition;  Mr.  M.  R.  Campbell,  geolo- 
gist in  charge  of  surveys  in  coal  areas. 


American  Forest  Congress  377 

ducer  gas  in  which  the  British  thermal  units  measure 
from  125  to  154  per  cubic  foot.  It  has  been  shown 
that  the  gas  produced  from  the  lignites  of  Colorado, 
North  Dakota,  and  Texas  ranges  from  160  to  190  B. 
T.  U/s  per  cubic  foot,  and  I  have  been  informed  that 
during  a  portion  of  the  runs  on  one  of  the  lignites  from 
North  Dakota  as  high  as  216  B.  T.  U.'s  were  made  in 
the  gas.  An  average  run  of  Texas  lignite  produced 
gas  of  a  little  less  than  170  B.  T.  U.'s. 

In  the  operation  of  the  coal-testing  plant,  the  amount 
of  electric  horse  power  produced  by  the  consumption 
of  the  coal  by  two  different  methods  was  ascertained. 
One  of  these  was  burned  under  boilers  connected  with 
the  steam  engine,  which  in  turn  was  connected  with  a 
dynamo  that  transformed  this  power  into  electrical 
units.  In  the  other  case  a  quantity  of  the  same  coal 
was  burned  in  a  gas  producer,  the  gas  thus  produced 
being  used  in  a  gas  engine,  and  the  power  thus  gen- 
erated being  in  like  manner  transformed  into  electrical 
units.  By  this  means  the  amount  of  electrical  power 
generated  from  the  same  coal  or  lignite  under  the  two 
systems  was  easily  compared,  and  it  was  found  that 
in  the  case  of  the  bituminous  coal  the  economy  of  the 
gas  engine  over  the  steam  engine  ranged  from  30  to 
considerably  more  than  50  per  cent.  Owing  to  the 
fact  that  the  furnaces  were  not  at  the  time  suited  to  the 
use  of  lignite  which  disintegrates  on  exposure,  attempts 
to  use  it  under  the  boilers  were  unsatisfactory,  whereas 
the  quality  of  the  gas  produced  from  the  same  grade  of 
lignites  was  from  20  to  25  per  cent  higher  than  that 
obtained  from  bituminous  coal.  This  is  partly  offset 
by  the  fact  that  a  larger  amount  of  lignite  is  required 
to  produce  the  same  amount  of  gas,  and  it  is  also  true 
at  the  present  time  that  the  installation  of  a  gas  pro- 
ducer and  gas  engine  plant  is  more  expensive  than 


378  Proceedings  o^  the 

that  of  a  steam  engine  plant,  and  that  the  expense  of 
operating  the  former  is  slightly  higher;  but  to 
demonstrate  that  these  lignites  can  be  used  at  all  in 
competition  with  the  bituminous  coals  is  of  inestimable 
value  in  the  industrial  development  of  the  Great  Plains 
region.  The  utilization  of  the  great  lignite  beds  of 
this  area  should  remove,  or  at  least  greatly  reduce,  the 
necessity  of  its  drawing  upon  the  forests  of  the  region 
for  fuel  purposes. 

Tests  made  on  the  different  grades  of  bituminous 
coals  show  not  only  a  large  gain  in  efficiency  of  the 
fuel  in  a  gas  producer  plant  over  the  steam  plant,  but 
especially  they  have  demonstrated  that  with  very  dirty 
coals  and  those  high  in  sulphur,  results  may  be  obtained 
that  compare  more  or  less  favorably  with  the  results 
obtained  in  the  best  type  of  steam  plants  using  the 
expensive  grades  of  soft  coal. 

It  seems  possible  that  future  work  may  go  even  a 
step  farther  and  show  that  ''slack"  coal,  with  even  a 
large  proportion  of  impurities,  may  be  converted  into 
producer  gas  and  used  in  a  gas  engine,  thereby 
replacing  much  of  the  high  grade  fuels  now  in  use. 
Indeed,  the  present  indications  are  that  the  economy 
obtained  in  the  gas  producer  plant  is  such  that  it  is 
destined  to  be  the  coming  mode  of  producing  power 
in  the  future,  and  through  this  great  saving  the  low 
grade  coals  of  the  country  and  especially  those  of  the 
western  half  of  the  United  States  will  be  more  and 
more  extensively  used. 

Of  the  cost  of  utilizing  the  lignites  and  bituminous 
coals  in  the  manner  outlined,  and  the  distribution  of 
the  power  obtained,  permit  me  to  say  a  few  words  in 
order  that  the  practical  business  side  of  the  matter 
may  be  laid  before  you.  It  is  estimated  that  a  gas 
producer   plant   with   gas   engines,    foundations,   and 


Ame:rican  Forest  Congress  379 

housings  complete,  capable  of  furnishing  15,000  horse 
power,  would  cost  nearly  $800,000.  Such  a  plant 
would  not  be  provided  with  apparatus  for  the  recovery 
of  the  bi-products  from  coal.  With  the  recovery 
apparatus  such  a  plant  would  cost,  approximately, 
$175,000  additional.  A  steam-boiler  plant  with  cross 
compound  condensing  engines,  capable  of  producing 
the  same  amount  of  horse  power,  is  estimated  roughly 
to  cost  $70,000  less  than  the  gas  producer  plant  without 
the  recovery  apparatus,  and  $245,000  less  than  the  gas 
producer  plant  with  recovery  appratus.  The  labor 
involved  in  the  operation  of  a  steam  plant  and  a  non- 
recovery  gas  producer  plant  would  probably  be  slightly 
in  favor  of  the  former. 

Unfortunately,  we  have  only  incomplete  comparative 
figures  for  the  use  of  lignite  in  a  plant  of  this  kind,  and 
the  investigations  at  St.  Louis  have  been  almost  of  a 
pioneer  nature  on  this  line.  But  it  is  evident  that 
either  in  the  case  of  soft  coal  or  lignite  when  used  in 
the  gas  producer  plant  the  saving  in  fuel  would  in  a 
short  time  be  more  than  sufficient  to  make  up  for  any 
reasonable  difference  in  the  initial  cost  of  that  as  com- 
pared with  the  initial  cost  of  a  steam  plant  of  equal 
capacity. 

In  the  present  state  of  development  of  apparatus  for 
the  generation  and  transmission  of  electric  power,  the 
limit  of  line  voltage  is  placed  at,  approximately,  60,000 
volts,  and  at  this  voltage  it  is  possible  to  transmit 
effectively  electrical  power  at  a  distance  of  250  miles. 
This  means  that  a  power  plant  established  in  the 
vicinity  of  coal  mines  can  supply  power  to  a  territory 
having  this  distance  of  250  miles  for  a  radius,  or, 
approximately,  200,000  square  miles — more  than  four 
times  the  size  of  New  York,  and  nearly  twice  the  size 
of  all  the  New  England  states  and  New  York  included. 


380  Proceedings  0^  the 

Such  a  plant  established,  for  instance,  near  the  lignite 
mines  of  Milam  or  Robertson  counties,  in  Texas,  could 
supply  light  and  power  to  the  entire  state,  with  the 
exception  of  the  far  northwestern  and  western  corners. 

This  brief  sketch  of  the  activities  of  the  Geological 
Survey  in  matters  directly  and  indirectly  affecting  the 
forests  and  woodlands  of  our  country  is  given  for  the 
purpose  of  placing  on  record  with  this  Congress  what 
the  Survey  has  been  and  is  doing  in  this  direction. 
The  Survey  is  an  investigating,  constructive  bureau  of 
the  Government,  and  desires  to  aid  in  every  possible 
way  in  advancing  the  great  work  of  preserving  and 
utilizing  the  woodlands  of  the  country. 

From  the  point  of  view  of  effective  administration, 
I  believe  that  the  examination,  development,  and 
administration  of  the  forest  reserves  should  be  placed 
in  charge  of  the  Bureau  of  Forestry  of  the  Department 
of  Agriculture,  and  that  the  topographic  mapping  of 
the  reserves  and  the  adjoining  forest  areas  should 
remain  in  charge  of  the  director  of  the  Geological 
Survey,  and  be  carried  on  in  cooperation  with  the 
Bureau  of  Forestry. 


WORK  OF  THE  GENERAL  LAND  OFFICE 

IN  THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF 

THE  RESERVES 

BY 

W.  A.  RICHARDS 

Commissioner  of  the  General  Land  Office 

pUBLIC  forest  reserves  under  the  control  of  the 
*  Government  of  the  United  States  had  their  in- 
ception in  section  twenty-four  of  the  Act  of  Congress, 
approved  March  3,  1891,  which  provides: 

That  the  President  of  the  United  States  may  from 
time  to  time  set  apart  and  reserve,  in  any  State  or 
Territory  having  pubHc  land  bearing  forests,  in  any 
part  of  the  public  lands  wholly  or  in  part  covered  with 
timber  or  undergrowth,  whether  of  commercial  value 
or  not,  as  public  reservations,  and  the  President  shall, 
by  public  proclamation,  declare  the  establishment  of 
such  reservations  and  the  limits  thereof. 

No  provision  for  the  administration  of  the  reserves 
so  created  appears  to  have  been  a  matter  of  legislation 
until  June  4,  1897,  when  Congress  prescribed  the  con- 
ditions under  which  such  reserves  should  be  estab- 
lished, to-wit:  to  improve  and  protect  the  forest  to 
secure  favorable  conditions  of  water  flows,  and  to  fur- 
nish a  continuous  supply  of  timber  for  the  use  and 
necessities  of  citizens  of  the  United  States;  and  the 
Secretary  of  the  Interior  was  authorized  to  make  pro- 
vision for  the  protection  against  destruction  by  fire 
and  depredations  upon  the  public  forests  and  forest 
reservations  and  to  make  such  rules  and  regulations 
and  establish  such  service  as  would  insure  the  objects 


382  Proceedings  of  the 

of  such  reservations;  that  is,  to  regulate  their  occu- 
pancy and  use  and  to  preserve  the  forests  thereon  from 
destruction.  The  act  also  provides  for  the  sale  of  so 
much  of  the  dead,  matured  or  large  growth  of  trees 
found  upon  such  reservations  as  may  be  compatible 
with  the  utilization  of  the  forests  thereon,  and  for  the 
free  use  of  such  timber  and  stone  on  such  reservations 
by  bona  fide  settlers,  miners,  residents  and  prospectors 
for  minerals,  for  firewood,  fencing,  building,  mining, 
prospecting  and  other  domestic  purposes,  as  may  be 
needed  by  such  persons,  but  with  a  proviso  that  such 
timber  should  be  used  within  the  State  or  Territory 
where  such  reservations  are  located.  Bona  fide  set- 
tlers, residents  and  prospectors  are  protected  by  said 
act  in  any  rights  they  may  have  to  any  lands  within 
such  reservations,  and  provision  was  made  for  the 
relinquishment  of  any  such  claims  or  lands  in  com- 
plete ownership  within  such  boundaries  for  any  vacant 
public  land  opened  to  settlement,  not  exceeding  the 
area  of  the  tract  exchanged.  Inasmuch  as  the  care 
of  these  reserves  was  so  closely  connected  with  the 
public  land  service,  the  Secretar}^  of  the  Interior  placed 
the  immediate  control  thereof  under  the  Commissioner 
of  the  General  Land  Office. 

At  the  date  of  the  passage  of  this  act  there  were  in 
existence  nineteen  forest  reservations  which  had  been 
created  under  the  provisions  of  the  Act  of  1891,  one 
of  which  was  in  Alaska,  having  an  aggregate  area  of 
approximately  19,000,000  acres.  In  addition  to  these 
eleven  other  reservations  had  been  created,  which  were 
suspended  by  Congress  from  the  effects  of  the  Presi- 
dent's proclamations  until  March  i,  1898,  when  said 
lands  should  become  subject  to  the  operation  of  said 
proclamations.  These  reserves  had  approximately  an 
area  of  20,000,000  acres,  or  a  total  in  both  classes  of 
about  39,000,000  acres. 


American  Forest  Congress  383 

There  are  now  in  existence  a  total  of  sixty-one  forest 
reservations  with  an  aggregate  area  approximately  of 
63,263,929  acres,  located  in  fourteen  States  and  Terri- 
tories, as  follows :  Two  in  Alaska,  eight  in  Arizona, 
ten  in  California;  six  in  Colorado,  one  in  Idaho,  one 
in  Idaho  and  Washington ;  one  in  Idaho  and  Montana, 
five  in  Montana,  two  in  Nebraska,  three  in  New 
Mexico,  one  in  Oklahoma,  four  in  Oregon,  two  in 
South  Dakota,  one  in  South  Dakota  and  Wyoming, 
eight  in  Utah,  three  in  Washington,  two  in  Wyoming, 
and  one  in  Wyoming  and  Montana. 

To  provide  for  the  care  and  maintenance  of  the 
forests  on  this  vast  area,  and  to  provide  such  rules  and 
regulations  and  the  enforcement  thereof  as  would 
best  subserve  that  purpose,  and  at  the  same  time  to 
overcome  to  some  extent  at  least,  the  prejudice  ex- 
isting among  the  settlers  and  others  to  the  withdrawal 
of  such  areas  from  the  public  domain,  was  the  work 
that  devolved  upon  the  General  Land  Office.  In  fur- 
therance of  this  object  rules  and  regulations  govern- 
ing forest  reserves  were  issued  by  the  General  Land 
Office  June  30,  1897,  and  approved  by  the  Secretary 
of  the  Interior,  in  which  it  was  clearly  shown  that 
while  such  reservations  were  created  for  the  purpose 
of  protecting  the  timber  thereon,  and  conserving  the 
water  supply,  the  right  of  the  public  to  secure  timber 
therefrom,  to  graze  live  stock  thereon,  or  to  make  any 
legitimate  use  of  the  reservations  would  not  be  pro- 
hibited, but  only  regulated  in  such  a  manner  as  would 
provide  not  only  for  present  but  for  the  future. 

It  then  became  necessary  to  provide  for  the  enforce- 
ment of  these  rules  and  regulations,  but  owing  to  the 
limited  appropriation  at  the  disposal  of  the  Depart- 
ment, very  little  progress  was  made  during  the  first 
year  in  that  respect.     During  the  summer  of  1897  six 


384  Prockejdings  of  the 

special  forest  agents  were  appointed  for  the  patrolling 
of  the  reserves,  and  they  were  assigned  to  duty  in 
California,  Oregon,  Washington,  Arizona  and  New 
Mexico,  it  being  the  opinion  of  the  Department  that 
the  reservations  in  those  localities  demanded  more 
immediate  attention  than  in  other  portions  of  the 
country.  It  is  very  apparent  that  such  a  limited  force 
was  not  sufficient  to  obtain  a  great  measure  of  success 
in  the  administration  of  the  forest  reserves,  but  on 
July  I,  1898,  a  larger  appropriation  became  available, 
and  an  attempt  was  made  to  organize  the  service  on  a 
somewhat  permanent  basis.  The  reservations  then 
existing  were  grouped  into  eleven  districts  under  as 
many  superintendents,  each  of  these  having  under 
his  supervision  and  direction  several  forest  supervis- 
ors, in  immediate  charge  of  the  respective  reserva- 
tions assigned  them,  each  of  whom  had  under  his 
personal  direction  a  number  of  forest  rangers,  whose 
duty  it  was  to  patrol  the  reserves,  to  prevent  forest 
fires  and  trespasses  from  all  sources,  to  see  to  the 
proper  cutting  and  removal  of  the  timber  designated 
by  the  supervisors  where  sales  of  timber  had  been 
made. 

From  the  experience  gained  in  the  administration 
of  the  reserves  various  changes  in  the  force  of  em- 
ployees have  been  made  until  the  present  division  of 
responsibility  has  been  established,  which  has  proven 
to  be  the  best  for  a  careful  administration  of  reserve 
interests  coupled  with  prompt  action  in  any  emergency 
that  may  arise.  Some  of  the  superintendents  were 
dispensed  with  and  their  duties  assigned  to  inspectors. 
The  reserve  force  in  the  field  is  now  composed  of  three 
inspectors,  five  superintendents,  fifty-two  supervisors, 
seventeen  first-class  rangers,  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
four    second-class    rangers    and    three    hundred    and 


American  Forkst  Congress  3^5 

twenty  third-class  rangers.  By  executive  order  dated 
December  17,  1904,  all  of  this  force  was  placed  under 
the  Civil  Service. 

Each  reserve  is  placed  in  charge  of  a  forest  super- 
visor, and  if  necessary,  an  assistant  supervisor,  and  a 
number  of  rangers.  This  group  of  men  is  held  re- 
sponsible for  the  proper  care  of  the  particular  reserve. 
The  large  reservations  are  divided  into  divisions,  and 
to  each  division  is  assigned  a  forest  guard.  Each  of 
these  divisions  is  divided  into  as  many  patrol  districts 
as  are  necessary,  and  to  each  patrol  district  is  assigned 
a  forest  ranger.  The  dividing  lines  of  the  divisions 
and  districts  are  generally  mountains,  canyons,  rivers, 
or  creeks. 

The  size  of  the  district  depends  upon  the  topography 
of  the  country,  the  difficulty  of  travel,  the  amount  of 
business  likely  to  be  encountered,  and  the  ability  of  the 
officer  in  charge.  The  forest  guard  is  held  responsi- 
ble for  the  satisfactory  performance  of  the  work  and 
the  condition  of  his  division.  He  carries  out  the  or- 
ders of  his  supervisor,  assigns  each  ranger  to  his  beat 
and  headquarters  and  superintends  and  directs  his 
work.  He  is  required  to  keep  watch  over  the  work 
of  each  ranger  in  this  division,  and  attend  to  any  special 
work  that  may  arise,  such  as  timber  sales,  requests  for 
free  use  of  timber,  and  any  matters  demanding  special 
investigations.  He  is  required  to  visit  his  rangers  as 
often  as  possible,  to  see  that  the  affairs  in  his  respec- 
tive districts  are  being  conducted  in  accordance  with 
the  regulations. 

The  assistant  supervisor  acts  as  field  assistant  to  the 
supervisor  in  charge  of  the  reserve.  During  patrol 
season  he  is  required  to  look  after  the  field  force, 
notify  them  of  all  unusual  affairs  affecting  the  reserve, 
the  transit  of  stock,  new  lumbering  enterprises,  prob- 


386  Procke:dings  of  the 

able  influx  of  tourists  or  others,  and  to  assist  them 
in  perfecting  the  system  of  signalling,  of  communica- 
tion and  of  obtaining  mail  and  supplies.  To  make  his 
services  effective  the  assistant  supervisor  should  be 
thoroughly  familiar  with  the  woods.  He  must  know 
every  trail  and  every  mountain  pass. 

The  forest  supervisor,  who  has  permanent  head- 
quarters in  a  town  near  the  reserve,  having  good  mail 
and  telegraph  facilities,  looks  after  all  the  office  work 
and  correspondence,  and  is  also  required  to  make  occa- 
sional trips  of  inspection  through  the  reserve.  All 
instructions  are  issued  by  the  General  Land  Office  to 
the  forest  supervisor,  who  is  responsible  for  the  exe- 
cution thereof  through  his  subordinate   force. 

The  forest  inspectors  are  constantly  inspecting  the 
reserves,  the  field  force  and  the  general  conditions 
thereof.  The  inspectors  should  be,  and  are  men  espe- 
cially qualified  in  forestry  matters.  They  are  men 
capable  of  assisting  the  officers  in  the  field,  instructing 
them  in  all  matters  pertaining  to  forestry  in  general, 
and  the  needs  of  the  reserve  in  particular. 

All  the  field  men  located  permanently  on  a  reserve 
are  required  to  furnish  the  necessary  saddle  and  pack 
horses  to  be  used  in  connection  with  their  work,  also 
camp  outfits,  which  are  necessary  when  the  condition 
of  the  service  requires  long  patrols. 

The  object  of  the  service  has  been  primarily  the 
protection  of  the  forest  reserve,  and,  secondly,  the 
interests  of  the  settlers  and  residents  within  the  vicinity 
of  the  reserve.  The  idea  of  withdrawing  such  a  large 
amount  of  land  from  the  public  domain,  the  fear  of 
losing  the  opportunity  to  use  timber  and  to  graze  their 
stock  on  the  lands  so  withdrawn,  caused  a  great  deal 
of  antagonism  to  the  forest  reserve  plan.  This,  how- 
ever, was  soon  in  a  measure  dispelled  when  it  was 


American  Forest  Congress  387 

ascertained  that  under  the  regulations  of  the  Depart- 
ment all  these  privileges  were  still  to  be  used,  the  only 
conditions  being  that  such  privileges  should  be  exer- 
cised in  a  systematic  manner,  under  the  direction  of 
the  forest  officers  and  for  the  future  betterment  of  the 
conditions  then  existing. 

The  use  of  the  forest  reserves  granted  to  the  public 
is  considered  a  privilege,  not  a  right.  It  may  be  re- 
fused in  any  case,  but  as  a  rule  settlers,  farmers,  pros- 
pectors and  others  who  so  desire  may  secure,  free  of 
charge,  all  kinds  of  timber  for  domestic  uses,  such  as 
fire-wood,  poles  and  logs,  and  if  really  needed,  matured 
green  timber.  Applicants  are  not  allowed  to  cut  tim- 
ber indiscriminately  or  wastefully,  but  can  cut  only 
such  as  the  proper  officer  deems  suitable  for  the  pur- 
pose without  injury  to  the  reserve,  and  they  are  also 
required  to  utilize  all  the  timber  that  can  be  used  for 
any  domestic  purpose  and  to  pile  the  brush  resulting 
from  the  cutting  in  such  a  manner  that  it  may  be 
burned  without  injury  to  the  surrounding  forest.  If 
firewood  is  desired,  applicants  are  required  to  utilize 
any  tops  and  limbs  which  may  have  been  left  from 
former  cuttings ;  if  building  logs  are  desired,  they  must 
if  possible  utilize  fire  killed  timber,  or  that  which  has 
become  infected  by  insects  or  other  destructive  agents. 
If  an  applicant  requires  green  timber,  he  is  assigned 
to  a  locality  where  it  has  matured  and  is  allowed  to  cut 
only  the  trees  above  a  certain  size  which  must  be  se- 
lected and  marked  by  a  forest  reserve  officer.  A  suffi- 
cient number  of  seed  trees  are  always  retained  for  the 
purpose  of  insuring  a  new  growth.  Corporations  or 
persons  desiring  to  obtain  timber  from  forest  reserves 
for  commercial  use  are  required  to  purchase  the  same, 
and  in  every  case  they  are  required  to  utilize  all  the 
timber,  either  for  lumber,  firewood,  or  other  purpose 


3^8  Proceedings  of  the 

and  to  pile  the  brush  so  that  it  can  be  burned  without 
injury  to  the  Hving  timber. 

Grazing  upon  the  reserves  is  also  conducted  under 
the  superintendence  of  the  General  Land  Office,  under 
the  direction  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior.  When- 
ever it  appears  that  grazing  will  not  damage  a  forest 
reserve  or  prevent  reforestation,  it  is  allowed  to  such 
an  extent  as  a  careful  investigation  warrants,  so  as 
to  prevent  any  injury  by  overgrazing.  In  practically 
all  the  reserves  cattle  grazing  is  allowed,  but  sheep 
grazing  is  prohibited  in  some  localities  where  it  is 
likely  to  injure  the  forest  cover  or  the  young  growth. 

Each  reserve  is  divided  into  grazing  districts,  and 
persons  holding  stock  grazing  permits  are  assigned  to 
a  certain  district  to  which  they  must  confine  their  stock. 
This  arrangement  secures  an  even  distribution  of  stock 
on  all  parts  of  the  reserve  and  puts  an  end  to  the  strife 
that  formerly  existed  as  to  the  right  of  settlers  and 
others  to  graze  their  stock  on  certain  lands  to  the  ex- 
clusion of  others.  Whenever  it  has  been  determined 
that  stock  may  be  grazed  in  any  reserve,  parties  desir- 
ing the  privilege  are  required  to  file  applications  for 
that  privilege,  which  if  approved  by  the  forest  officer, 
are  transmitted  to  the  General  Land  Office  for  its 
action.  Preference  is  given  in  allowing  such  permits ; 
first,  to  stock  of  the  reserve  residents;  second,  stock 
of  persons  owning  farms  or  ranches  in  the  reserve, 
but  not  residing  thereon ;  third,  stock  belonging  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  reserve  known  as  neighboring  stock, 
and,  fourth,  stock  coming  from  a  considerable  distance 
from  the  reserve,  and  all  persons  holding  permits 
pledge  themselves  to  assist  in  protecting  the  reserve 
and  in  preventing  and  fighting  fires.  The  number  of 
cattle,  horses,  or  sheep  that  may  be  allowed  in  any 
reserve  is  fixed  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior  for 


Ame:rican  Forest  Congress  389 

the  following  year  at  the  end  of  each  grazing  season, 
and  is  determined  by  the  report  of  the  supervisor  in 
connection  with  the  effects  of  the  former  year's  graz- 
ing. 

In  addition  to  the  privilege  of  securing  timber  from, 
and  grazing  upon  forest  reserves  which  may  be  called 
general  privileges,  the  General  Land  Office  is  called 
upon  to  pass  upon  numerous  applications  for  special 
privileges,  such  as  rights  of  way  for  irrigating  ditches, 
railways,  roads,  the  establishment  of  hotels,  the  erec- 
tion of  saw  mills  and  the  like  within  forest  reserve 
boundaries.  In  all  such  applications  the  primary 
question  to  be  determined  is  whether  the  exercise  of 
such  privilege  will  injure  in  any  manner  the  forest  or 
forest  cover,  or  interfere  with  the  proper  administra- 
tion of  the  reserve.  If  this  question  is  answered  in 
the  negative,  then  it  is  to  be  determined  whether  the 
privilege  sought  will  be  for  the  welfare  of  the  public 
or  beneficial  to  the  exercise  of  some  right  which  the 
applicant  may  have  already  acquired,  either  before  or 
after  the  creation  of  the  reserve,  and  if  so,  the  privi- 
lege is  usually  granted.  The  investigation  necessary 
to  secure  this  information  is  obtained  by  the  supervis- 
ors under  the  direction  of  the  General  Land  Office, 
and  upon  their  reports  action  is  based. 

During  the  winter  season  when  patrol  duty  is  not 
necessary,  a  large  number  of  the  rangers  are  fur- 
loughed,  leaving  the  supervisors  and  a  few  of  the  high 
grade  rangers  to  care  for  the  reserves,  and  to  form 
a  nucleus  for  the  increase  of  the  service  during  the 
following  summer.  These  are  employed  in  construct- 
ing trails  so  that  the  various  portions  of  the  reserve 
may  be  more  easily  reached,  and  fire  breaks  to  aid  in 
the  control  of  forest  fires.  Twenty-one  hundred  and 
eighty-eight  miles  of  trails  and  roads  have  been  con- 


390  Proceedings  of  the 

structed  since  the  forest  reserves  came  under  the  con- 
trol of  this  office,  while  there  were  11,924  miles  of 
roads  and  trails  there  at  that  time,  many  of  which  are 
of  sufficient  width  to  form  a  fire  break. 

All  these  matters  are  under  the  supervision  of  the 
General  Land  Office,  subject  to  the  approval  of  the 
Secretary  of  the  Interior.  This  system  is  somewhat 
experimental  in  its  nature  and  is  subject  to  improve- 
ment as  the  necessity  arises.  The  appropriations  have 
not  been  sufficient  to  carry  on  an  effective  administra- 
tion, but  the  results  so  far  achieved  give  promise  that 
it  is  only  a  question  of  time  when  the  service  can  be 
made  self-supporting,  to  say  nothing  of  the  incalcula- 
ble benefit  that  will  result  to  those  who  live  near  the 
whose  streams  are  fed  by  the  waters  therefrom. 


A  FEDERAL  FOREST  SERVICE 

BY 
GIFFORD  PINCHOT 

Forester,  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture 

Note.— Almost  immediately  upon  the  adjournment  of  the 
Forest  Congress  a  bill  to  transfer  the  care  of  the  forest  re- 
serves to  the  Secretary  of  Agriculture  became  law.  A  na- 
tional forest  service  therefore  came  into  actual  existence  in  the 
Bureau  of  Forestry  of  that  Department,  the  name  of  which 
Bureau,  on  the  first  of  July,  1905,  will  be  changed  to  the 
Forest  Service.  This  paper  has  therefore  been  modified  in 
accordance  with  the  facts.  It  is  now  a  statement  of  the 
objects  and  organization  of  the  Forest  Service. 

•y  HE  National  Forest  Service  has  three  principal 
objects.  First,  it  is  responsible  for  the  general 
progress  of  forestry  in  the  United  States  among  the 
people  at  large,  so  far  as  the  national  government  is 
concerned.  This  work  rests  upon  the  fact  that  in  a 
government  such  as  ours  no  movement  can  be  perma- 
nently successful  unless  it  is  based  on  a  general  public 
recognition  of  its  importance  and  utility.  Since, 
therefore,  it  is  essential  to  the  well-being  of  the  nation 
that  its  forests  should  not  be  destroyed,  the  first  duty 
of  the  Forest  Service  is  to  place  that  fact  clearly  before 
the  people. 

Second,  the  Forest  Service,  being  almost,  if  not 
quite,  the  only  organization  at  present  capable  of  so 
doing,  is  charged  with  giving  private  owners  the 
knowledge  of  how  to  perpetuate  their  forests  by  wise 
use.  The  area  of  private  forest  lands  in  the  United 
States  does  now,  and  probably  must  always,  greatly 


392  Procejedings  0^  TH^ 

exceed  that  of  the  government  forests.  Consequently, 
the  supply  of  timber  for  the  future  depends  more 
upon  the  treatment  given  to  private  forests  than  upon 
the  national  forest  reserves.  For  this  reason  it  is  of 
the  utmost  importance  to  give  practical  advice  and 
assistance  to  private  owners  so  that  they  may  be  able 
to  introduce  conservative  lumbering  upon  their  ov/n 
lands. 

Third,  the  Forest  Service  is  charged  with  the  pro- 
tection and  administration  of  the  national  forests. 
These  forests  at  present  cover  an  area  of  rather  more 
than  63,000,000  acres,  and  are  slowly  increasing.  They 
lie  almost  entirely  upon  high  land  at  the  headwaters 
of  streams  in  the  Western  States  and  Territories,  and 
are  of  vast  importance  to  the  irrigation  and  grazing 
interests,  as  well  as  to  the  users  of  wood.  They  are 
the  key  to  the  prosperity  of  the  West. 

The  administration  of  the  forest  reserves  is  based 
upon  the  general  principle  repeatedly  stated  by  Presi- 
dent Roosevelt  as  the  policy  of  his  administration,  that 
the  reserves  are  for  use.  They  must  be  useful  first  of 
all  to  the  people  of  the  neighborhood  in  which  they 
lie.  Nothing  stands  in  the  way  of  such  use  so  effect- 
ively as  the  delays  which  are  sometimes  caused  by 
official  red-tape,  and  especially  by  referring  local  ques- 
tions for  decision  at  Washington.  Every  question 
which  can  be  left  to  the  local  forest  officers  will  here- 
after be  decided  on  the  ground,  and  the  office  at 
Washington,  as  rapidly  and  completely  as  the  new  or- 
ganization will  permit,  will  be  relieved  from  the  con- 
sideration of  a  multitude  of  details  which  have  ham- 
pered it  hitherto. 

Not  only  are  the  forest  reserves  in  general  for  use, 
but  every  individual  resource  is  likewise  to  be  used, 
under  the  sinsfle  restriction  that  it  shall  be  so  used  as  to 


Ame:rican  Fore:st  Congress  393 

become  permanent.  Timber,  water,  grass,  minerals, 
are  all  to  be  open  to  the  conservative  and  continued 
use  of  the  people.  They  must  be  used,  but  they  must 
not  be  destroyed. 

This  policy  of  use  cannot  be  carried  out  with  success 
unless  the  personnel  of  the  Forest  Service  is  of  a  high 
standard.  It  is  of  the  first  importance  that  every 
forest  officer  should  be  honest,  intelligent,  well  in- 
formed in  forest  matters,  physically  active,  and  full  of 
the  right  kind  of  interest  in  his  work.  Such  interest 
is  impossible  unless  the  work  offers  a  man  a  permanent 
career.  That  is  why  promotions  to  the  higher  posi- 
tions in  the  Forest  Service  will  invariably  be  made 
from  the  lower  positions,  when  suitable  men  are  avail- 
able. 

It  is  along  these  principal  lines  that  the  Forest  Ser- 
vice will  endeavor  to  make  itself  valuable  to  the  nation. 
By  deciding  local  questions  promptly  on  local  grounds, 
by  opening  all  the  resources  of  the  reserves  to  rea- 
sonable use,  and  by  the  gradual  creation  of  an  effective 
staff  of  honest  and  interested  public  servants  the  Forest 
Service  itself  should  become  one  of  the  really  useful 
public  agencies  of  the  United  States. 

Vastly  important  as  the  national  forests  are,  we  must 
recognize  that  the  bulk  of  our  forests  are  now,  and 
must  always  remain,  in  the  hands  of  private  owners; 
that  it  is  only  as  the  private  owner,  large  or  small,  be- 
comes interested  in  forestry  and  carries  out  its  practical 
principles,  that  we  shall  succeed  in  introducing  forestry 
into  the  United  States.  It  should  be  remembered  by 
every  forester,  and  every  man  interested  in  forestry, 
that  the  woodlands  in  farms  are  about  three  times  as 
great  in  extent  as  all  the  national  forest  reserves,  and 
that  the  reserves  are  almost  insignificant  when  com- 
pared with  the  vast  area  of  timberland  which  is  owned 


394  Proce:e:dings  of  the 

by  lumbermen  in  larger  or  smaller  holdings,  by  rail- 
roads, or  by  men  of  various  occupations  who  control 
the  forests  upon  which  the  prosperity  of  this  whole 
country  depends.  The  forests  of  the  private  owners 
will  have  to  be  set  in  order  if  the  overwhelming  calam- 
ity of  a  timber  famine  is  to  be  kept  from  this  nation. 

The  extension  of  the  present  forest  area,  by  restock- 
ing cut-over  lands  and  by  making  plantations  where 
there  are  no  forests,  is  one  of  the  chief  duties  of  the 
present  moment.  This  will  be  accomplished  by  help- 
ing the  States  to  formulate  their  own  policies,  by  active 
cooperation  in  studying  the  local  situation  in  each,  and 
by  recommending  the  best  procedure  under  the  condi- 
tions that  are  found  to  exist.  In  particular,  the  farm- 
ers in  every  section  of  the  counrty  must  be  aided,  either 
to  develop  their  woodlots  or  to  plant  trees  upon  the 
prairies. 

The  forests  now  under  government  control  should 
remain  under  government  control  so  far  as  they  are 
needed  for  public  uses.  We  must  have  forest  reserves, 
and  we  shall  have  to  extend  their  area  later  on,  not 
merely  by  presidential  proclamation,  but  by  purchase, 
both  East  and  West.  Forest  lands  are  continually 
passing  out  of  the  government's  ownership — lands 
whose  preservation  is  absolutely  essential  to  the  well- 
being  of  the  country  where  they  lie.  It  will  event- 
ually cost  the  government  of  the  United  States  hun- 
dreds of  millions  of  dollars  to  get  back  again  the  areas 
which  it  once  held,  which  are  now  in  private  owner- 
ship, and  which  are  absolutely  essential  to  the  welfare 
of  all  of  us. 

I  hope  to  see  the  Bureau  of  Forestry  act  as  a  helper 
and  assistant,  not  only  to  the  commercial  interests, 
which  is  its  first  duty,  but  to  all  the  interests  of  every 
kind  that  are  in  any  way  connected  with  the  forest. 


American  Forest  Congress  395 

And  this  not  by  interference  or  dictation.  I  should 
hke  to  have  every  man  and  every  woman  in  this  con- 
vention go  home  with  the  idea  that  the  Bureau  of 
Forestry  is  the  servant  of  every  one  of  you,  and  asks 
nothing  better,  and  can  hope  for  nothing  better,  than 
to  be  called  upon  to  give  you  help  to  the  utmost  limit 
of  its  power. 


PROGRESS   IN  FOREST  RESERVATION 
IN  PENNSYLVANIA 

BY 
Dr.  J.  T.  ROTHROCK 

Secretary,  Pennsylvania  Reservation  Commission 

Tp  HE  first  requirement  of  a  State  is  citizens.  Penn- 
sylvania, acting  upon  this  fundamental  principle 
early,  adopted  the  expedient  of  selling  land  at  the 
nominal  price  of  26  2-3  cents  per  acre.  The  State 
has  long  since  outgrown  the  necessity  of  offering  such 
inducements;  but  the  law  which  authorized  the  same 
remains  to  this  day  unrepealed.  In  1893  the  Com- 
monwealth still  owned  a  few  of  its  many  acres,  but 
these  could  not  be  located  by  any  State  officer  and 
were  only  discovered  when  the  surveyors,  surveying 
unseated  lands,  found  here  and  there  a  tract  for  which 
no  claimant  appeared. 

Actual  purchase  of  land  by  the  States  for  the  pur- 
pose of  creating  forest  reservations  commenced  in 
1896.  So  apparent  had  the  necessity  of  such  action 
become  that,  though  the  average  price  paid  per  acre 
for  the  land  without  timber  was  greater  than  the 
Commonwealth  received  for  the  land  with  all  of  its 
wealth  of  timber  upon  it,  no  criticism  was  evoked. 

To-day  Pennsylvania  is  in  actual,  or  prospective, 
possession  of  about  700,000  acres,  which  has  been  pur- 
chased for  the  specific  purpose  of  creating  forest 
reservations,  and  thus  to  restore  a  normal  propor- 
tionate area  of  wooded  to  cleared  land.  A  Department 
of  Forestry  exists  which  ranks  in  recognized  impor- 
tance with  that  of  Public  Instruction,  Agriculture,  or 
Internal  Affairs. 


American  Forest  Congress  397 

This  department  has  charge  of  land  purchases  under 
advice  of  the  States  Forest  Reservation  Commission, 
and  of  care  of  the  land  when  purchased.  It  has  since 
the  commencement  of  the  movement  in  Pennsylvania 
been  our  policy  to  move  forward  no  more  rapidly  than 
public  sentiment  demanded,  though  an  earnest  effort 
was  always  made  to  create  such  sentiment,  when  it 
was  lacking,  but  needed.  It  may  be  safely  said  that 
up  to  this  time  no  legislature  has  ever  denied  what  the 
forest  officials  of  the  State  suggested,  nor  have  we 
ever  had  a  governor  who  failed  most  cordially  and 
fully  to  support  the  forest  movement  since  it  took  its 
present  direction. 

We  recognize  that  land  must  be  cared  for  it  if  is 
purchased ;  though  we  have  not  as  yet  placed  care- 
takers over  any  considerable  part  of  the  State's 
recently  acquired  possessions.  The  principal  reason 
for  this  has  been  that  we  did  not  desire  to  involve 
expenditure  of  public  funds  until  the  people  them- 
selves demanded  it.  This  time  seems  to  have  arrived 
and  the  legislature  will  be  asked  this  session  to  grant 
full,  explicit  authority  for  such  action. 

Thus  far  almost  no  land  has  been  purchased  in  the 
regions  which  drain  in  the  Ohio.  The  reason  for  this 
is  that  a  large  part  of  this  area  contains  valuable 
mineral  deposits,  and  could  not  be  purchased  without 
allowing  the  owners  to  retain  their  rights  to  the  min- 
erals. This  difficulty  did  not  exist  in  the  districts 
which  are  drained  by  the  Susquehanna,  or  the  Dela- 
ware, because  there  the  mineral  belts  were  not  of  the 
kind  we  desired  to  secure  for  forest  purposes  at  present. 
If,  however,  we  had  allowed  retention  of  mineral 
rights  by  the  present  owners  in  the  one  district  it 
would  have  been  necessary  to  do  so  in  the  others. 
The   Forestry   Commission   of    Pennsylvania   is   now 


39^  Procee:dings  of  the 

prepared  to  entertain  propositions  to  purchase  land  in 
the  regions  which  are  tributary  to  the  Ohio  River. 

We  here  merely  allude  to  the  ever  recurring  vital 
question  of  forest  fires,  to  say  that  v^hile  we  still 
anticipate  our  share  of  trouble,  nevertheless  public 
sentiment  in  Pennsylvania  never  was  so  crystalized 
against  those  who  create  them  as  now.  This,  of 
course,  means  fewer  fires  and  a  prompter  suppression 
of  them  than  ever  before. 

In  the  way  of  restoration  of  timber  a  good  start  has 
been  made.  We  have  opened  an  experimental  plan- 
tation of  white  pine,  and  this  year  also  made  a  good 
start  in  cultivation  of  black  walnut.  One  nursery 
contains  probably  300,000  seedlings  which  will  be 
ready  to  set  out  in  the  coming  spring.  Our  intention 
is  to  give  the  hardy  catalpa  a  full,  fair  trial,  though 
from  what  we  have  already  seen  of  it  in  Pennsylvania 
our  hopes  are  not  as  yet  very  high  in  regard  to  the 
tree. 

The  railroad  directors  of  the  State  are  considering 
the  propriety  of  entering  upon  the  cultivation  of  our 
black  locut  for  cross  ties,  and  one  of  our  leading 
railroad  corporations  has  already  growing  and  in  good 
condition  about  250,000  young  locust  trees. 

For  the  near  future  our  State  Forestry  Commis- 
sion is  contemplating  planting  considerable  areas,  old 
farms  obtained  along  with  more  extensive  purchases, 
in  white  pine.  This  tree  formerly  grew  there,  and  is 
now  growing  in  the  land  adjacent  in  most  thriving 
and  desirable  condition,  with  tall,  straight  limbless 
trunks,  which  promises  a  harvest  of  the  oldtime  ''cork 
pine." 

Our  chief  difficulty  in  the  way  of  scientific  forestry 
work  has  been  the  want  of  trained  wardens.  If  we 
had  enough  of  these  we  could  for  the  time  being  get 


American  Forest  Congress  399 

on  with  ordinary  unskilled  labor,  where  labor  was 
required.  The  time  will  speedily  come  when  we  can 
pay  liberal  salaries  to  properly  educated  foresters,  to 
produce  and  to  work  out  a  comprehensive  plan  for  our 
operations.  It  is  not  here  yet.  To  tide  over  the 
difficulty  we  have  opened  a  forest  academy  in  the 
South  Mountain  Reservation,  and  we  have  now  twenty 
young  men  receiving  elementary  forestry  instruction 
there.  It  is  hoped  to  greatly  extend  the  curriculum 
in  the  near  future.  One  feature  of  our  method  of 
instruction  is  that  our  pupils  divide  their  time  about 
equally  between  manual  labor  in  forestry  and  their 
studies.  Thus  far  the  combination  has  given  fairly 
satisfactory  results,  and  for  the  present  we  are  in- 
clined to  continue  it. 

Pennsylvania  has,  we  believe  judiciously,  started  to 
utilize  her  forest  reservations  as  sanatoria  for  cure 
of  cases  of  incipient  tuberculosis.  Of  course,  the 
patients  are  not  allowed  to  run  at  random  over  the 
ground  and  locate  anywhere,  but  a  place  is  set  apart 
for  them.  The  State  has  provided  cottages  and  cabins 
and  we  now  have,  in  the  South  Mountain,  a  colony 
of  about  thirty  such  invalids  who  are  taking  the  fresh 
air  cure.  The  results  obtained  have,  in  many  in- 
stances, been  remarkable.  The  probabilities  are  that 
this  work  will  be  greatly  enlarged  during  the  next 
few  years. 

On  the  whole,  the  outlook  for  forestry  in  Pennsyl- 
vania is  hopeful.  Some  of  our  laws  may  be  improved, 
but  we  have  no  legal  or  constitutional  restrictions  upon 
us  which  interfere  with  development  of  conservative 
forestry  ideas  or  plans. 


IMPROMPTU  ADDRESSES 


Address  by  Hon.  John  Lacey 

Member  of  Congress  from  Iowa 

pr  OR  the  last  fourteen  years  I  have  been  a  member 
of  a  Httle  forest  congress,  originally  composed 
of  fifteen  members  and  increased  lately  to  seventeen, 
namely  the  Committee  on  Public  Lands.  The  ques- 
tions that  you  are  discussing  and  will  discuss  during 
this  conference  here  we  have  been  struggling  with 
during  all  this  time.  The  problem  of  growing  trees 
must  of  necessity  be  solved,  not  only  by  the  private 
owner,  but  also  by  the  State  and  nation.  Congress 
has  recognized  the  necessity  of  setting  apart  large 
areas  of  forests  for  the  purpose  of  preserving  streams 
for  irrigation  and  for  the  benefit,  I  think,  as  well,  of 
the  public  health;  because  the  forest  is  a  source  of 
public  health.  The  fact  has  been  recognized  that  the 
Government  must  take  some  steps  and  take  these  steps 
in  time.  The  movement  has  been  late,  but  it  is  not 
too  late.  This  vast  area  of  the  public  domain  (larger 
than  Iowa  and  Ohio  combined)  that  has  thus  been  set 
apart,  and  I  believe,  set  apart  for  the  American  people 
and  their  children  and  their  childrens'  children  forever, 
need  no  longer  remain  in  the  custody  of  that  great 
department  whose  main  business  it  is  to  dispose  of  the 
public  land,  to  transfer  it  to  the  private  individual  for 
his  home ;  and,  therefore,  for  several  years  I  personally 
have  championed  a  measure  which  would  remove  from 
this  great  committee  one  of  its  most  pleasing  duties, 
but  yet  would  transfer  it  to  a  department  better  fitted — 
admirably  fitted  for  the  future  care  and  preservation 
of  this  great  domain.     And  it  is  not  news  to  you,  and 


404  Proceedings  of  the 

yet  it  is  worthy  of  record  here,  that  this  measure  has 
passed  the  House  of  Representatives  and  is  now  pend- 
ing in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States;  and  your 
judgment  and  influence  will  go  far,  no  doubt,  to  secure 
its  passage  through  that  wise  and  great  though  some- 
what slow  moving  body.  We  have  at  the  head  of  the 
Department  of  Agriculture  the  great  head  of  forestry. 
I,  perhaps,  do  not  mean  the  gentlemen  that  you  are  all 
thinking  of.  It  is  not  my  dear  young  friend,  Mr. 
Pinchot,  but  the  old  man,  who  comes  from  the  prairie 
State  of  Iowa,  a  State  whose  chief  forests  consisted 
of  hazelbrush  in  the  days  when  the  Secretary  of  Agri- 
culture first  settled  in  his  magnificent  domain.  And  I 
might  say  to  you  that  so  far  as  that  State  is  concerned, 
it  is  quite  too  rich  to  use  much  of  it  for  forestry.  They 
can  hardly  afford  it.  With  the  land  at  one  hundred 
dollars  an  acre  to  plant  out  in  trees,  the  crop  of  which 
will  be  harvested  seventy-five  years  from  now,  is  almost 
too  expensive  even  for  a  nation  to  undertake,  so  Iowa 
will  never  be  a  forest  producing  State.  The  head  of 
this  department  will  be  succeeded  some  day — I  hope  a 
long  time  in  the  future — by  some  man  of  equally  com- 
prehensive grasp  and  an  equally  prophetic  view  of  the 
future.  That  department  has  come  to  stay,  and  it  is 
a  department  that  may  look  far  into  the  future  and 
do  that  for  the  nation  and  for  the  people  which  the 
private  individual,  or  even  the  State,  is  not  adequate 
to  accomplish.  And,  therefore,  it  is  well  that  when 
these  reservations  have  finally  been  delimited  and  their 
outlines  fixed,  that  they  should  be  transferred,  not  to  a 
department  whose  business  it  is  to  pass  the  title  away 
to  individuals,  but  to  a  department  that  will  hold  on 
to  this  land,  that  will  turn  it  over  to  succeeding  admin- 
istrations, and  that  will  preserve  the  sources  of  the 
water  supply  of  the  country  in  the  West,  whose  future 


American  Forest  Congress  405 

is  entirely  dependent  upon  the  successful  operation  of 
irrigation.  And  that  is  why,  my  friends,  this  transfer 
to  a  different  department  is  a  matter  now  of  necessity 
when  this  vast  domain  of  sixty-two  or  sixty-three 
millions  of  acres  shall  have  been  selected  for  that 
purpose. 

There  is  another  reason  for  the  transfer.  I  referred 
a  moment  ago  to  my  young  friend,  Mr.  Pinchot,  who 
is  the  chief  forester  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture. 
It  has  been  an  anomaly  in  our  legislation  that  the  de- 
partment of  the  Government  having  charge  of  the 
forests  had  none  of  the  skilled  foresters  of  the  United 
States  in  its  employ,  and  that  the  department  that  did 
not  own  a  tree  anywhere  was  surrounded  by  the  best 
corps  of  foresters  in  the  world.  The  mountain  could 
not  come  to  Mahomet,  and  so  Mahomet  is  going  to  the 
mountain.  The  department  is  to  be  transferred — the 
service  transferred — to  that  department  that  is  so  nota- 
bly fitted  and  so  organized  as  to  take  the  permanent 
care  of  this  magnificent,  this  wonderful  domain.  I 
was  born  in  the  woods  of  Virginia.  I  moved  (thank 
God),  to  the  prairies,  and  one  of  the  most  unpleasant 
things  of  my  subsequent  life  was  to  return  to  the  woods 
of  Virginia,  now  West  Virginia,  to  find  that  the  old 
streams — the  old  "swimmin'  holes" — as  Whitcomb 
Riley  calls  them,  the  holes  we  used  to  swim  in  and 
where  we  caught  so  many  fish,  are  now  simply  gravelly 
roads.  They  are  highways  as  dry,  as  arid,  as  one  of 
the  deserts  of  Arizona  or  New  Mexico — nothing  but 
beds  of  gravel.  And  why  is  it?  Because  the  trees 
have  been  cut  down  and  the  springs  that  were  the  chil- 
dren of  the  forest,  have  dried  up,  and  instead  of  a 
slow  running  brook  digging  out  holes  here  and  there, 
clear  as  crystal  and  full  of  water,  we  have  simply  an 
increased  torrent  after  each  storm,  carrying  the  pebbles 

N 


4o6  Procee:dings  of  the 

and  the  sand  from  the  hills,  washing  them  down  and 
destroying  the  old  brooks. 

Now  this  is  one  of  the  unpleasant  features  of  the 
denuded  timber  lands  of  the  Eastern  States.  I  see 
here  before  me  representatives  from  every  State  and 
Territory  in  the  Union,  because  this  question  has  be- 
come a  national  one  and  has  gone  into  the  homes  of  the 
people.  It  is  not  too  late  to  save  some  of  the  great 
Appalachian  forests  of  North  and  South  Carolina.  It 
is  not  too  late  to  save  the  valleys  of  many  the  Eastern 
States  from  that  destruction  which  followed  the  denu- 
dation of  the  forests  of  France  when  the  hilltops  were 
carried  down  into  the  valleys  and  the  rich  alluvial 
plains  absolutely  buried  with  sand  and  gravel.  It  is 
not  yet  too  late,  although  many  a  fertile  field  has  been 
destroyed. 

I  can  look  at  this  from  an  impartial  standpoint,  with- 
out prejudice,  living  in  a  country  that  has  no  forests, 
that  never  had  them,  that  never  will  have  any  great 
forests;  where  we  have  a  climate  in  which  there  is 
always  rain  enough  to  grow  a  crop  and  drought  enough 
to  dry  it  for  harvest;  where  all  we  need  in  the  world 
is  to  be  let  alone. 

I  did  not  come  here  to  talk  to  you  this  morning.  I 
sat  down  in  the  audience  simply  because  I  wanted  to 
touch  elbows  with  those  who  are  carrying  this  crusade 
in  favor  of  the  forests  into  every  part  of  the  United 
States ;  but  I  am  glad  to  have  this  opportunity  to  look 
these  earnest  people  in  the  face  and  to  bid  them  God- 
speed and  good  cheer.  There  is  no  nation  in  the  world 
that  has  been  so  extravagant,  that  has  been  such  a 
spendthrift  of  its  natural  resources  as  the  American 
nation.  We  tap  a  gas  field,  set  it  on  fire  and  advertise 
for  everybody  to  come  and  see  it  burn  up — a  gas  field 
that  it  took  countless  millions  of  ages  to  store  under  the 


American  Forest  Congress  407 

cap  of  a  rock  that  covers  it — and  yet  in  a  few  years  it 
is  destroyed,  and  the  factories  that  were  built  over  it 
with  the  understanding  that  an  everlasting  source  of 
supply  existed  underneath,  find  themselves  once  more 
shipping  coal  from  hundreds  of  miles  away  in  order  to 
supply  their  furnaces.  The  same  is  true  with  oil ;  the 
same  with  the  beasts  of  the  forests  and  the  birds  of  the 
air.  People  destroy  them  with  a  wantonness  that  al- 
most looks  like  malignity;  and  all  these  natural  re- 
sources of  the  great  United  States  of  America  are 
involved,  either  directly  or  indirectly  in  the  questions 
that  you  are  going  to  discuss.  While  preserving  the 
forests  you  will  preserve  the  animals  that  roam  therein ; 
while  preserving  the  forests  will  give  shelter  to  the 
birds  of  the  air  that  make  their  nests  therein.  It  is 
too  late  to  save  the  wild  pigeon,  perhaps.  The  count- 
less millions  that  used  to  break  down  the  woods  by 
their  weight  have  disappeared,  and  the  advent  of  a 
dozen  wild  pigeons  in  the  State  of  New  York  is  taken 
up  by  the  Associated  Press  and  published  far  and  wide 
as  a  wonderful  thing:  "A  dozen  wild  pigoens  were 
seen  in  western  New  York  day  before  yesterday." 
And  yet,  within  the  lifetime  of  my  young  friend  Pin- 
chot,  and  I  refer  to  him  because  I  look  to  him  for  the 
future  of  the  forests,  in  the  lifetime  of  even  the  young- 
est members  present  here,  this  magnificent  bird  has 
practically  disappeared  from  the  face  of  the  earth.  I 
know  my  friend,  the  Secretary  of  Agriculture,  will  not 
fully  agree  with  me  upon  the  importance  of  the  preser- 
vation of  the  buffalo ;  but  I  expect  some  day  to  get  him 
to  entirely  agree  with  me. 

This  is  a  day  of  progress.  It  is  not  very  long  ago 
that  men  rejoiced  at  the  destruction  of  the  buffalo, 
because  it  opened  the  way  for  the  white  man  in  the 
West.     We  took  up  the  subject  in  Congress  some  years 


4o8  Proceedings  oe  the 

ago,  while  a  few  remains  of  this  magnificent  animal 
were  still  upon  the  earth.  It  was  my  good  luck  to 
secure  a  small  appropriation  from  our  economical 
chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Appropriations — not  a 
very  sentimental  man,  but  one  of  the  most  practical 
men  on  earth — Uncle  Joe  Cannon — a  small  appropria- 
tion of  $15,000  to  restore  a  herd  of  bison  to  the  Yellow- 
stone Park.  Four  hundred  of  these  creatures  were 
enclosed  in  the  area  that  was  reserved  when  this  land 
was  set  apart  as  a  pleasure  ground  for  the  nation. 
Those  four  hundred  have  gradually  been  killed  for 
their  heads  and  for  their  pelts,  and  the  calves  have 
been  destroyed  by  the  mountain  lions  and  by  the  sever- 
ity of  the  winters,  until  finally  only  twenty-three  were 
the  sorry  remains  of  that  splendid  herd  that  was  set 
apart  for  the  nation  in  the  Yellowstone ;  and  the  small 
appropriation  of  $15,000  was  made.  Eighteen  animals 
were  purchased,  part  of  them  from  the  Flathead  herd. 
The  Flathead  Indians,  with  more  prudence  than  their 
white  brethren  had  shown,  saved  thirty-five  calves  a 
good  many  years  ago,  out  of  the  dying  herd,  and  made 
them  their  private  property.  And  that  little  herd  of 
thirty-five  increased  until  there  were  nearly  three  hun- 
dred of  them.  And  this  herd  now  in  the  Yellowstone 
was  selected  mainly  from  the  Flathead  herd  because 
they  were  reared  in  an  altitude  something  like  that  in 
which  the  new  herd  was  to  live.  To  this  herd  were 
added  animals  from  Texas — from  the  Goodnight 
herd — and  from  Corbin's  New  Hampshire  herd — so 
as  to  mingle  the  blood  normally  in  this  new  herd  as 
the  blood  of  the  nations  has  been  mingled  in  the  United 
States  of  America.  This  is  the  way  to  produce  a  race, 
to  mix  them  and  get  the  best  you  can  from  everywhere. 
And  so,  starting  upon  the  proposition  of  building  once 
more  a  herd  in  the  Yellowstone,  that  little  herd  from 


American  Forest  Congress  409 

eighteen  has  grown  to  thirty-nine,  and  we  have  hopes 
of  sixteen  more  in  the  spring. 

Now  I  only  speak  about  this,  my  friends,  because  it 
is  a  kindred  question.  It  is  one  of  the  things  that 
grows  out  of  the  agitation  of  forestry.  A  man  or  a 
woman  who  preserves  a  tree  in  a  practical  way  will 
preserve  the  things  that  that  tree  shelters  and  produces 
and  that  are  useful  to  man.  Again,  I  wish  to  bid  you 
Godspeed,  and  I  hope  you  will  carry  with  you  to  every 
part  of  the  United  States  the  enthusiasm  which  you  will 
generate  here — the  enthusiasm  which  you  bring  here 
and  which  you  will  convey  to  one  another — and  that 
you  will  be  a  mighty  band  of  missionaries  all  the  way 
from  Portland,  Maine,  to  Portland,  Oregon. 


Address  by  Hon.  W.  A.  Reeder 

Member  of  Congress  from  Kansas 

T  REGARD  it  as  a  privilege  to  be  permitted  to  speak 
to  so  intelligent  an  audience  from  all  sections  of 
this  great  country  of  ours,  interested  in  so  vital  a  work 
as  the  preservation  of  our  forests.  I  had  the  good 
fortune  to  be  born  in  one  of  the  best  valleys  of  Penn- 
sylvania, the  Cumberland  Valley,  but  I  had  the  better 
fortune  to  be  removed,  very  early  in  my  history,  to 
the  Solomon  Valley,  in  the  semi-arid  regions  of  western 
Kansas,  and  for  considerably  over  a  third  of  a  century 
I  have  lived  in  that  section,  and  it  has  probably  changed 
my  characteristics  considerably  from  what  they  would 
have  been  had  I  remained  in  the  land  of  my  nativity ; 
also  my  interest  in  certain  matters,  particularly  the 
matters  of  irrigation  and  the  preservation  of  our 
forests. 

What  a  dense  population  we  will  be  able  to  find 


4IO  Proceedings  o?  the 

homes  for  in  the  vast  arid  and  semi-arid  regions  of 
the  West  when  we  put  water  upon  those  semi-arid  and 
arid  lands!  Incidentally,  I  wish  to  remark  that  the 
district  I  represent  has  more  tillable  acres  than  all  of 
Japan,  and  while  we  have  200,000  population  or  less, 
Japan  is  supporting  43,000,000  of  people.  With  irri- 
gation we  can  accommodate  as  dense  a  population  as 
is  supported  on  any  equal  sized  territory  in  any  part 
of  the  world.  Mine  is  one  of  the  seven  congressional 
districts  of  Kansas,  and  Kansas  but  a  small  portion  of 
the  territory  that  can  and  will  be  irrigated  by  means 
of  the  irrigation  law.  The  subject  I  desire  to  present 
is  this:  You  are  interested  in  matters  that  are  vitally 
important  to  irrigation.  Important  because  of  the 
conservation  of  water  by  the  forests  at  the  head  of 
streams  which  supply  water  for  irrigation.  The  tim- 
ber should  be  preserved  in  order  to  conserve  this  water. 
You  are  also  interested  in  another  subject  which  has 
been  spoken  of  by  several,  which  if  handled  rightly, 
will  add  largely  to  the  funds  of  the  great  irrigation 
movement.  This  is  the  sale  of  the  timber  on  the  public 
domain  for  something  near  its  value.  We  are  some- 
thing of  an  impetous  people  in  Kansas,  and  have  seen 
times  when  we  had  to  be  somewhat  practical.  I  am 
glad  to  add,  however,  that  we  are  very  prosperous  at 
present.  We  Kansans  who  are  interested  in  irrigation 
feel  that  the  matter  of  changing  our  laws  in  regard  to 
the  sale  of  timber  at  something  near  its  value,  should 
be  consummated,  and  that  soon.  We  Kansans  are 
urgent  in  tne  matter  and  would  go  direct  to  the  source 
of  the  difficulty  delaying  such  action.  It  should  have 
been  arranged  at  the  last  session  of  Congress,  or  even 
before  that,  in  my  opinion. 

The  great  irrigation  convention  held  at  El   Paso, 
Texas,  in  November,   1904,  composed  of  men  from 


American  Forest  Congress  411 

all  parts  of  the  nation,  adopted  resolutions  asking  that 
our  present  land  laws  be  repealed  and  a  system  of  laws 
substituted  providing  for  the  sale  of  the  stumpage  of 
our  timber,  and  now,  this  great  convention  of  repre- 
sentative men  and  women  express  themselves  so  ear- 
nestly in  the  same  manner,  that  I  ask  myself  why  is 
it  so  small  a  number  of  people,  the  speculators  in  our 
timber  land,  can  control  in  these  matters  against  the 
great  mass  of  our  influential  citizens?  I  fear  you  are 
not  practical  enough.  Your  are  not  fighting  at  the  right 
place.  The  Congress  of  the  United  States  has  control 
in  these  matters.  The  men  who  appeared  before  the 
Committee  on  Public  Lands  last  year,  and  argued  in 
favor  of  retaining  the  land  laws  as  they  are,  are  not 
holding  meetings;  are  not  passing  resolutions;  are 
showing  no  particular  enthusiasm ;  but  they  are  doing 
the  business.  I  say  this  with  the  utmost  respect  and 
regard  for  the  chairman  of  the  Public  Lands  Com- 
mittee, Congressman  Lacey,  who  is  on  the  platform. 
In  my  judgment,  our  timber  law  should  have  been 
changed  long  ere  this.  I  wish  every  member  of  this 
organization  would  read  the  hearings  before  the  Public 
Lands  Committee  of  the  House  last  year.  I  wish  you 
could,  in  some  way,  induce  this  Public  Lands  Commit- 
tee of  the  House,  who  are  solely  responsible,  to  permit 
the  question  of  the  repeal  of  these  very  harmful  laws 
to  come  before  the  House  for  consideration.  This  is 
the  only  practical  method  of  reaching  this  important 
question.  I  further  wish  to  assure  you  that  resolutions 
will  not  accomplish  this  result.  A  bill  for  the  repeal 
of  the  Timber  and  Stone  Act  has  passed  the  Senate, 
and  the  Committee  on  Public  Lands  of  the  House  have 
already  decided  the  House  shall  not  be  permitted  to 
consider  it  for  one  year  more  at  least.  All  your  in- 
fluence should  be  used  with  the  members  of  this  com- 


412  Proceedings  oe  the 

mittee,  in  order  that  the  matter  may  be  considered  by 
the  House.  I  am  satisfied  that  Congress  is  wilHng  to 
repeal  this  Timber  and  Stone  Act  and  put  in  its  place 
laws  for  the  sale  of  the  stumpage,  if  they  are  permitted 
the  privilege  of  considering  the  question. 

I  thank  you  for  this  privilege,  as  I  was  anxious  to 
put  this  matter  before  you,  and  urge  you  to  commence 
an  effort  by  seeing  members  of  the  Committee  on 
Public  Lands  of  the  House,  or  indirectly  using  your 
influence  with  them.  This  committee  has  absolute 
control  in  this  matter.  If  they  can  be  induced  to  per- 
mit the  matter  to  come  before  the  House,  you  should 
then  urge  your  member  of  Congress  to  work  and  vote 
in  line  with  your  wishes  in  the  matter. 


Address  by  Rev.  Edward  Everett  Hale 

Chaplain  of  the  United  States  Senate 

I  SHOULD  be  glad  to  be  called  upon  at  any  time, 
day  or  night,  for  twelve  hours  or  twelve  minutes, 
to  speak  upon  this  subject,  anywhere  or  to  anybody 
who  had  any  interest  in  it.  I  represent  here  the  State 
of  Massachusetts,  as  well  as  the  State  of  New  Hamp- 
shire; I  represent  also  the  Appalachian  Association, 
which  is  a  large  organization  and  has  done  a  great 
deal  of  good.  But  I  am  not  going  to  speak  as  a  New 
England  man ;  I  am  going  to  speak  as  an  American. 

I  have  slept  under  pine  trees,  which  were  high,  tall, 
beautiful  pine  trees  when  North  America  was  dis- 
covered. I  went  up  through  the  same  region  two  years 
ago  with  a  friend  and  found  my  pine  trees  all  gone  and 
sumac  and  blackberry  bushes  in  their  places.  It  makes 
a  man  cry  to  see  it.  I  have  talked  with  lumbermen 
who  knew  where  they  could  find  pine  trees  that  had 


American  Forest  Congress  413 

King  George's  mark  on  them,  because  King  George, 
in  1770,  valued  his  New  England  forests  so  much  that 
he  would  not  let  anybody  cut  down  pine  trees 
vv^ithout  his  permission,  and  he  placed  on  the  trees  the 
broad  arrow  of  the  English  Admiral.  Fortunately,  he 
was  not  able  to  cut  down  the  trees  afterwards.  Now 
we  are  before  Congress  because  we  want  Congress  to 
preserve  the  forests  for  fifty  square  miles  in  that  region. 
I  desire  that  my  boy's  boy's  boy's  boy's  girls,  two  cen- 
turies hence  shall  see  such  pine  trees  as  I  saw  in  1841. 
And  for  like  reasons,  we  want  an  Appalachian  reser- 
vation made  in  the  highlands  of  Tennessee  and  the 
Carolinas. 


Address  by  Mr.  W.  S.  Harvey 

Vice-President,  Pennsylvania  Forestry  Association 

I  T  is  exceedingly  gratifying  to  me,  as  an  officer  of 
the  Pennsylvania  Forestry  Association,  which  asso- 
ciation, you  are  all  aware,  has  been  one  of  the  pioneers 
in  the  work  for  forestry,  and  probably  has  done  more 
than  any  other  association,  and  has  a  larger  member- 
ship than  any  other  association,  except  the  x\merican 
Forestry  Association,  of  which  I  also  have  the  honor 
to  be  a  member  of,  and  of  the  Board  of  Directors. 

The  highest  tribute  that  has  ever  yet  been  paid  to 
the  forestry  work  of  the  United  States  is  being  paid 
to-day  by  this  notable  gathering  of  influential  people, 
not  only  from  every  section  of  our  own  country,  but 
from  our  kindred  country,  Canada.  We  have  listened 
with  great  interest,  and  I  sincerely  trust  it  will  be  with 
great  profit,  to  the  words  that  my  countryman,  Br. 
White,  has  just  uttered,  in  telling  us  how  intelligently 
Canada  is  administering  her  forests,  and  this  Congress 


414  Proce:edings  of  the; 

will  fail  of  the  responsibility  that  rests  upon  it  to  do 
practical  work,  if  we  do  not,  before  we  disband,  take 
action  of  a  nature  that  will  enlist  the  influence  of  every 
one  here  and  the  organizations  they  represent.  Rail- 
roads, timber  owners,  and  lumber  manufacturers,  those 
interested  in  irrigation,  those  interested  in  mining, 
those  interested  in  industries  collateral  to  the  forestry 
question,  we  should  enlist  their  cooperation  and  service 
to  have  laws  enacted  in  the  United  States  that  will  at 
least  put  the  United  States  on  an  equal  footing  with 
our  neighbor,  Canada.  I  sincerely  trust  that  we  will 
not  adjourn  without  having  some  resolutions  passed 
that  will  invite  the  cooperation  of  all  the  bodies  here 
represented,  to  have  the  Timber  and  Stone  Act 
repealed.  The  Timber  and  Stone  Act,  as  we  have 
learned  in  the  Secretar}^'s  report,  allows  the  United 
States  Government  to  sell  land  in  fee  for  $2.50  an 
acre,  while  the  reservations  of  the  Chippewa  Indians, 
which  were  sold  at  public  auction  in  December  of  1903, 
realized  for  the  timber  alone,  the  land  itself  being 
reserved,  $15.06  an  acre,  or  more  than  $2,600,000,  as 
against  $438,000  that  the  Government  would  have 
received  at  $2.50  an  acre.  Why  should  the  United 
States  Government  sell  what  it  owns  for  less  than  its 
real,  its  market  value  ?  There  is  no  reason  in  the  world 
why  this  should  be  done,  and  if  I  am  not  out  of  order, 
Mr.  Chairman,  I  think  it  would  be  appropriate  that  I, 
or  some  one  else,  should  make  a  motion  that  the 
recommendations  that  are  in  the  Secretary's  report 
shall  be  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Resolutions; 
that  the  Secretary  be  requested  to  tabulate  those  recom- 
mendations so  that  he  can  present  them  to  the  Com- 
mittee on  Resolutions,  so  they  can  consider  them  and 
bring  them  before  this  Congress  to  be  acted  upon 
before  we  separate. 


American  Forest  Congress  415 

The  purpose  of  our  coming  together,  with  the  im- 
portant interests  represented  and  identified  with  this 
Congress,  is  to  produce  practical  results.  Our  distin- 
guished President  said,  in  the  address  which  he  read 
to  us  this  morning,  that  the  "period  of  talking  is  past 
and  the  period  of  doing  has  come."  I  think  all  of  us 
can  rejoice  in  the  fact  that  there  has  never  been  a 
period  in  the  history  of  the  United  States  that  was  such 
a  period  of  doing.  We  have  to-day  an  administration 
that  does  things.  American  citizenship  has  been  ex- 
alted in  the  eyes  of  the  entire  world  through  the 
methods  of  doing  those  things.  Mr.  Chairman,  it  is  an 
administration  where  personnel  counts  for  much,  and 
we  are  greatly  honored  in  the  work  that  many  of  us 
have  been  so  deeply  interested  in  for  many  years,  in 
having  you  at  the  head  of  this  great  economic  work. 
At  first  we  were  ridiculed  for  being  theorists  and 
idealists,  and  we  were  told  that  there  was  nothing 
practical  in  our  ends  and  aims.  We  are  thankful  to- 
day that  that  spirit  has  disappeared.  We  are  also 
highly  honored  in  having  the  President  of  the  United 
States  the  honorary  president  of  this  Congress,  who 
will  also  deliver  one  of  the  most  important  addresses, 
which  address  is  to  embrace  in  its  scope,  forestry  in 
its  relation  to  the  United  States.  Probably  all  of  you 
are  aware  that  perhaps  we  to-day  would  be  aborigines 
if  it  were  not  indirectly  for  forestry. 

You  all  know  the  man  who  discovered  America 
more  than  four  hundred  years  ago.  Columbus  had 
great  trouble  with  his  crew,  they  mutinied  and  had 
decided  that  they  would  allow  him  no  longer  to  pursue 
his  course  to  find  land  that  they  never  believed  would 
be  found,  and  they  determined  that  they  would  compel 
him  to  return  to  their  native  land,  and  just  at  that 
juncture  one  of  those  men,  looking  overboard  into  the 


4i6  Proceedings  o?  the 

sea,  saw  the  fresh  Hmb  of  a  tree  floating  in  the  ocean, 
and  they  then  thought  land  must  be  near,  and  they 
determined  they  would  pursue  their  course,  and 
America  was  discovered  as  a  result  of  that  incident. 

The  president  of  this  Association,  our  distinguished 
Secretary  of  Agriculture,  who  is  the  most  modest  man 
that  was  ever  sent  to  Washington  from  Iowa,  is  a 
man  who  also  "does  things,"  and  the  greatest  guaranty 
and  the  best  earnest  that  we  can  have  of  the  future  of 
the  forestry  work,  is  that  Secretary  Wilson  is  at  the 
head  of  it.  The  department  of  which  Secretary  Wilson 
is  the  head,  we  must  not  overlook  the  fact,  is  the  one 
department  of  the  Government  that  produces  things. 
Every  other  department  of  this  Government  is  a  matter 
of  expenditure;  Army,  Navy,  Interior,  Post  Office, 
Commerce  and  Labor,  and  the  Treasury  Department. 
All  of  these  departments  are  departments  that  require 
enormous  expenditures.  The  Department  of  Agricul- 
ture is  the  department  that  has  done  more  than  any 
other  department  in  the  United  States  to  increase  the 
wealth  of  the  United  States.  Friends  in  Wall  Street 
say  "Secretary  Wilson  is  the  greatest  bull  factor  on 
the  whole  financial  horizon." 

He  has  recently  made  a  statement  that  the  value  of 
the  products  of  the  soil  in  the  United  States  the  past 
year  is  four  billion,  nine  hundred  million  dollars — 
four  hundred  millions  dollars  greater  than  they  were 
one  year  ago,  and  they  say  a  shrinkage  in  securities 
in  Wall  Street,  from  one  to  two  billions  of  dollars,  does 
not  amount  to  anything  serious  when  the  actual  wealth 
of  the  country  is  increased  four  billion,  nine  hundred 
million  dollars. 

Secretary  Wilson  is  going  to  hold  himself  responsi- 
ble for  the  future  of  the  work  of  this  Association  ;  also 
his  associate,   Mr.   Pinchot.     We  all   delight  to  give 


American  Forest  Congress  417 

honor  and  credit  to  this  gifted  young  man,  and  every 
one  of  us  is  sorry  that  we  are  not  as  young  as  Mr. 
Pinchot,  to  go  with  him  into  the  great  future  of  this 
work.  It  is  going  to  have  a  great  future,  and  I  am 
glad  to  say  as  a  representative  of  the  Pennsylvania 
Association,  that  Pennsylvania  is  ready  to  go  hand  in 
hand  and  cooperate  with  you  in  every  good  measure 
of  legislation,  national  or  state,  that  may  be  desirable, 
and  one  of  the  important  purposes  here  should  be  to 
find  a  base  of  unity  and  harmony  of  action  on  all 
national  questions.  If  we  can  interest  earnestly  and 
sincerely  the  interests  that  are  represented  here  to-day, 
and  representing  the  many  states  that  they  do,  I  under- 
take to  predict,  and  I  say  it  without  any  qualification, 
that  I  believe  there  is  no  legislation  that  we  will  not 
be  able  to  secure,  because  the  people  who  represent  the 
forestry  movement  to-day  will  not  ask  anything  that  will 
not  be  desirable  or  beneficient  or  wise  and  good  for  the 
interest  and  welfare  of  the  country. 

As  a  member  of  this  Congress  from  the  State 
of  Pennsylvania,  that  is  indirectly  interested  in 
the  Appalachian  Forest  Reserve,  I  want  to  raise 
my  voice  here  in  advocacy  of  using  our  influence  with 
the  Congress  of  the  United  States  to  make  it  possible 
that  we  have  a  forest  reservation  in  the  Eastern  States. 
We  have  learned  in  the  figures  that  have  been  given 
us  that  the  United  States  owns  63,000,000  of  acres  of 
reservations,  every  one  of  which  is  in  the  West.  The 
Appalachian  Reservation,  the  purchase  of  which  has 
been  endorsed  and  advised  by  commercial  bodies 
throughout  New  England  and  the  East,  by  various 
forest  associations  and  by  the  National  Board  of  Trade 
for  several  years,  at  their  meetings  in  Januarv,  in 
Washington,  embraces  3,840.000  acres  of  land,  cover- 
ing an  area  two  hundred  miles  long  and  twenty  to  forty 


4i8  Proceedings  of  the 

miles  wide — an  average  of  about  thirty  miles.  The 
importance  of  securing  it  by  the  National  Government 
is  of  great  vital  interest  to  this  Congress.  This  Con- 
gress is  to  consider  economic  questions  from  a  practical 
point  of  view.  The  Southern  States  have  more  than 
$200,000,000  invested  now  in  cotton  mills.  These  cot- 
ton mills  are  in  a  large  measure  dependent  upon  water 
power.  The  taking  of  the  forest  cover  from  the 
Appalachian  Mountains  will  largely  destroy  the  oppor- 
tunity nature  has  given  the  South  to  grow  and  increase 
in  wealth  and  prosperity,  which  it  is  doing  and  which 
in  the  future  it  will  to  a  greater  degree  than  any  other 
section  of  our  country.  Some  of  you  may  not  be  aware 
of  the  fact  that  the  head  waters  of  all  of  the  rivers 
that  I  shall  name  are  in  this  Appalachian  range :  The 
Potomac,  the  James,  the  Shenandoah,  the  Roanoke, 
the  Dan,  the  Catawba,  the  Yadkin,  the  Broad,  the 
Santee  and  the  Savannah  on  the  east.  On  the  west  we 
have  the  Cumberland,  the  French  Broad,  the  New,  the 
Tennessee,  the  Kanawha,  and  the  Ohio.  The  names 
of  these  rivers  should  impress  us  with  the  significance 
and  the  importance  of  providing  a  forest  reservation 
in  the  Appalachian  territory  in  the  Middle  East.  Res- 
olutions were  passed  by  the  American  Cotton  Manu- 
facturers' Association  in  convention  in  the  city  of 
Washington  on  the  12th  day  of  May,  1904,  as  follows: 
"Whereas,  we  recognize  a  great  source  of  danger  to 
our  water  powers  in  the  indiscriminate  cutting  of 
timber  at  the  headwaters  of  our  streams ;  and  whereas, 
this  opinion  is  confirmed  by  uniform  experience  in 
other  countries,  where  drastic  remedies  have  been 
successfully  applied;  and  whereas,  our  future  as  a 
manufacturing  nation  is  largely  dependent  upon  cheap 
power  secured  from^  our  rivers  and  streams;  and 
whereas,  owing  to  the  great  improvements  being  made 


American  Forest  Congress  419 

in  electrical  transportation  our  water  powers  should 
be  greater  factors  for  furnishing  power  in  the  future 
than  they  have  in  the  past;  and  whereas,  the  sources 
of  the  streams  where  the  injury  is  done  are  often  in 
other  States  than  those  in  which  power  is  used,  hence 
this  vital  question  becomes  one  which  the  National 
Government  alone  can  properly  deal  with." 

There  is  another  important  point,  and  that  is  the  fact 
that  the  southern  Appalachian  Mountains  embrace  the 
last  remnant  of  the  hardwood  forests  of  the  eastern 
United  States.  Owing  to  there  being  no  swamps  or 
lakes  in  this  entire  region,  almost  the  entire  rainfall 
will  be  lost  at  once  if  the  forest  cover  is  removed.  Upon 
the  continuance  of  this  forest  cover  depends  almost  en- 
tirely the  water  power,  navigation  and  agriculture  of 
the  regions  south  of  the  Ohio  and  Potomac  Rivers  and 
east  of  the  Mississippi.  This  proposed  forest  reserve 
extends  through  several  State,  and  it  is  not  practicable 
to  depend  upon  State  action.  I,  therefore,  Mr.  Chair- 
man, in  view  of  these  important  facts  that  should 
impress  us  with  great  earnestness  and  determination  to 
take  action  at  this  time,  recommend  that  this  question 
be  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Resolutions,  and  I 
sincerely  trust  that  the  Committee  on  Resolutions  will 
take  definite  action  and  bring  before  this  Congress  a 
resolution  for  their  adoption. 


Address  by  Mr.  Aubrey  White 

Commissioner  of  Crown  Lands,  Ontario,  Canada 

T    ASSURE  you  I  am  taken  completely  by  surprise  in 

being  asked  to  address  you  at  the  present  moment. 

I  had  naturally  expected  that  at  some  time  during  this 

Congress  I  might  be  asked  to  say  something  in  connec- 


420  PrOCKEDINGS  01?   THE 

tion  with  forest  reserves  and  our  management  of  them 
in  the  Province  of  Ontario,  but  I  was  not  prepared  to 
speak  at  any  length  at  the  present  moment.  I  cannot, 
however,  refuse  to  say  a  few  words  in  connection  with 
the  forest  reserves  of  Ontario  and  their  management. 
At  the  outset  I  wish  to  say  that  I  am  a  great  lover  of 
the  forest.  In  my  early  days  in  Canada  it  was  my 
good  fortune,  first,  to  trade  with  the  Indians  in  the 
remote  part  of  the  province,  afterwards,  to  be  engaged 
in  the  lumber  business,  first  in  the  subordinate  position 
of  cutting  roads  and  gradually  working  up,  until  at  the 
present  time  I  am  in  charge,  as  the  permanent  official 
of  all  the  timber  and  Crown  Lands  of  the  great  Prov- 
ince of  Ontario.  In  my  peregrinations  through  the 
back  country  by  canoe,  particularly  after  coming  over 
a  long,  tiresome  portage,  it  was  often  a  source  of  great 
delight  to  me  on  putting  my  canoe  down  off  my  head 
to  see  a  little  lake  surrounded  by  the  beautiful  green 
forest,  figurately,  like  a  diamond  set  in  emeralds.  There 
can  be  nothing  more  gratifying  to  the  eye  of  man  than 
such  a  sight,  particularly  under  such  circumstances. 
And  then,  as  the  eloquent  gentleman  who  has  just  ad- 
dressed you  a  moment  ago,  said  with  respect  to  his 
experience  in  his  own  State  of  Virginia,  I  have  gone 
back  later  to  some  of  these  little  lakes  and  seen  them 
spoiled,  the  timber  having  been  burned  up  and  the 
locality  denuded  of  all  its  beauty  and  become  an  eye- 
sore in  the  landscape.  Therefore,  as  a  lover  of  the 
beautiful,  as  one  who  is  fond  of  nature,  I  am  anxious 
to  do  everything  in  my  power  to  educate  the  people 
upon  the  subject  of  forestry,  and  the  conservation  of 
our  forests,  as  well  from  the  standpoint  of  the  beautiful 
as  from  a  commercial  standpoint. 

We  in  Canada  have  an  altogether  different  system  in 
managing  our   forests   from   what  you   have   in   this 


American  Forest  Congress  421 

country.  I  sometimes  think  it  is  better  to  adhere  to 
an  old  s}'stem,  improving  it  from  time  to  time  as  expe- 
rience may  dictate,  than  it  is  to  evolve  a  new  system. 
The  genesis  of  oitr  system  of  forest  management  is  to 
be  found  back  in  the  days  of  the  French  regime  in 
Canada.  At  that  time,  when  the  Crown  was  parting 
with  the  soil,  it  reserved  to  the  King  of  France  all  the 
timber  on  the  land  that  was  suitable  for  naval  purposes. 
The  oak  was  the  principal  timber  used  for  naval  pur- 
poses, and  it  was  the  timber  reserved.  Permits  had  to 
be  obtained  to  get  into  the  forests  and  cut  it.  When 
the  country  came  into  the  possession  of  the  British, 
the  same  system  was  still  pursued,  but  by  this  time 
pine  had  become  the  valuable  naval  timber,  and  it  was 
reserved,  and  so  it  has  been  ever  since.  In  all  the  titles 
we  give  to  settlers  and  others,  we  reserve  the  pine 
timber  until  the  patent  has  issued.  So  far  as  the 
Province  of  Ontario  is  concerned,  our  principal  revenue 
is  derived  from  the  sale  of  pine  timber.  We  have  no 
State  tax  as  you  have  in  the  different  States  of  the 
Union.  The  people  of  Ontario  are  not  taxed  one 
five-cent  piece  for  State  purposes,  if  I  may  put  it  in 
that  way.  Our  principal  revenue  comes  from  two 
sources,  first,  the  per  capita  grant  made  by  the  Federal 
Government  to  the  Province,  and  the  other,  the  pro- 
ceeds of  the  sale  of  our  timber  and  lands.  This  last 
year,  1904,  our  revenue  from  timber  alone  was  some 
$2,800,000.  When  we  determine  to  dispose  of  any 
quantity  of  timber,  we  survey  it  in  what  we  call 
''berths,"  that  is,  blocks  of  land  having  an  area  of 
from  two  to  fifty  miles,  as  the  case  may  be.  Then  we 
advertise  the  sale  very  widely,  notifying  the  people  to 
come  and  bid  for  these  blocks.  Before  the  day  of 
sale  we  have  them  carefully  inspected,  the  timber  upon 
them  estimated,  and  we  put  a  value  upon  each  block, 


422  Proceedings  oi^  the 

which  is  called  the  "upset  price."  Then  we  put  them 
up  for  sale  by  the  mile  at  a  price  which  we  call  the 
''bonus  value,"  that  is,  the  amount  of  money  paid  for 
the  privilege  of  obtaining  a  license  to  cut  the  timber, 
subject  to  a  royalty  when  it  is  cut.  The  present  roy- 
alty, exclusive  of  the  bonus  paid  at  the  sale,  runs  from 
$i.oo  to  $2.00  a  thousand.  The  bonus  derived  from 
a  sale  is  sometimes  enormous.  At  the  last  sale  we  held 
in  1903,  we  received  $30,500  a  mile  for  the  right  to 
cut  timber  on  a  certain  berth,  with  a  royalty  of  $2.00 
per  tliousand  feet,  board  measure,  to  be  paid  as  the 
timber  was  cut  and  removed.  We  have  a  very  valu- 
able asset  in  our  pine  timber  and  we  are  taking  care 
of  it,  we  are  not  giving  it  away.  Now,  you  have  had 
in  this  country,  as  we  have,  the  problem  of  preventing 
the  destruction  of  the  forests  by  fire.  When  I  entered 
the  service  of  the  Ontario  Government,  one  of  the  first 
questions  addressed  to  me  by  my  chief  was,  "Can  you 
not  recommend  something  by  which  we  can  prevent 
the  forests  being  destroyed  by  fire  ?"  I  said  I  thought 
I  could,  and  I  evolved  the  plan  which  has  been  copied 
in  all  the  provinces  and  by  the  Federal  Government, 
and  is,  I  think,  if  I  may  say  so  without  egotism,  now 
followed  to  some  extent,  at  any  rate,  in  the  United 
States.  I  said  we  should  try  to  guard  the  forests 
during  what  may  be  called  the  dangerous  period ;  that 
is,  from  the  month  of  May  to  the  beginning  of  October. 
We  have  some  20,000  miles  in  the  Province  of  Ontario 
under  timber  license,  and  my  suggestion  was  that  the 
owners  of  these  licenses  should  be  asked  to  recommend 
or  select  men  who  were  cool-headed  and  knew  their 
limits,  as  such  men  could  best  protect  them,  that  these 
men  should  be  put  on  duty  as  fire  rangers  or  fire  police 
during  the  dangerous  period,  the  Government  bearing 
one-half  of  the  expense  and  the  timber  licensees  the 


American  Forest  Congress  423 

other.  I  suggested  that  the  licensees  should  be  asked 
to  name  the  rangers  because  I  wanted  to  get  capable 
men  and  to  divorce  the  service  from  any  connection 
with  politics.  If  the  Government  had  appointed  all  the 
rangers  I  fear  we  would  have  had  the  insinuation  that 
some  of  them  were  appointed  for  political  purposes. 
In  order  to  get  rid  of  that  idea  once  and  forever,  we 
said  we  would  allow  the  licensees,  who  were  of  all 
schools  of  political  thought,  to  select  the  men,  then 
we  will  appoint  them  and  pay  half  their  wages.  That 
system  has  been  approved  and  expanded  and  is  in 
force  at  the  present  time.  During  the  last  year,  in 
the  Province  of  Ontario,  we  have  not  had  a  single  forest 
fire,  although  thousands  of  people  are  moving  about 
through  the  forests  during  the  summer  season.  Large 
numbers  of  your  own  countrymen  come  up  to  our 
country  during  the  summer,  regarding  it  as  a  play- 
ground because  we  have  the  forest  there  in  which  they 
can  come  in  contact  with  nature  and  enjoy  themselves. 
Recently  we  have  thought  we  ought  to  go  a  step  fur- 
ther; that  we  ought  to  set  apart  large  tracts  of  land 
as  forest  reserves,  the  timber  of  which  should  be  cut 
subject  to  regulations  as  to  the  size  of  the  timber  and 
measurements  and  everything  of  that  sort,  and  that  the 
trees  to  be  cut  should  be  marked  by  rangers  appointed 
by  the  Government,  the  timber  to  be  disposed  of  in 
the  open  market  from  time  to  time  as  might  be  thought 
proper.  We  have  set  apart  in  the  Province  of  Ontario 
some  7,000,000  acres  of  forest  reserves,  and  we  have 
on  these  7,000,000  acres  probably  some  10,000,000,000 
feet  of  white  pine  timber,  and  in  this  white  pine  we 
think  we  have  one  of  the  most  valuable  assets  that  any 
province  or  State  could  have,  because  there  is  no 
property  that  is  more  rapidly  increasing  in  value  than 
white  pine  stumpage.     We  are  using  our  best  efforts 


424  Prockkdings  of  the: 

to  take  care  of  it,  to  protect  it,  and  I  think  I  may  say 
that  so  far  as  the  prevention  of  the  destruction  of  the 
forest  by  fire  is  concerned,  we  have  ahiiost,  if  not  com- 
pletely, solved  the  problem. 

I  am  delighted  to  have  had  the  opportunity  of  saying 
a  few  words  to  this  great  Congress  upon  the  manage- 
ment of  our  forest  reserves.  Necessarily  I  have  been 
somewhat  disjointed  in  my  remarks,  being  called  upon 
on  the  spur  of  the  moment  without  any  preparation  to 
address  the  meeting.  Before  I  sit  down  I  want  to 
congratulate  you,  Mr.  Chairman,  and  I  want  to  con- 
gratulate everybody  present  upon  the  amount  of  good 
that  can  be  done  by  such  a  meeting  as  this.  If  every- 
one here  is  determined  to  do  everything  in  their  power 
to  educate  the  people  upon  the  subject  of  the  protection 
of  the  forest  and  its  conservation  for  national  purposes, 
I  think  we  shall  have  a  better  public  opinion  upon  the 
matter. 


Address  by  Dr.  B.  E.  Fernow 

Author  of  "  Economics  of  Forestry  " 

I  T  was  said  this  morning  that  the  time  for  talking  is 
past  and  time  for  action  is  present,  and  so  I  sup- 
posed that  talking  was  no  longer  in  order  and  had  not 
even  thought  of  what  I  might  say  to  you  should  I  be 
called  upon.  I  might,  however,  be  reminiscent  of 
an  occasion  similar  to  the  present  one,  when  the  first 
Forestry  Congress  was  called,  to  Cincinnati,  in  1882, 
when  the  first  attempt  was  made  in  the  United  States 
to  arouse  public  attention  to  the  necessity  of  the  subject 
which  now  occupies  this  large  assembly.  Do  not 
believe  for  a  moment  that  those  were  all  sentimentalists 
that  came  together  at  that  early  stage  of  development. 


American  Forest  Congress  425 

There  were  economists  present  with  sentiment,  to  be 
sure,  but  not  moved  by  sentimentality.  Later  a  large 
amount  of  sentimentality  was  introduced  into  the 
subject,  thanks  to  the  ladies,  and  this,  too,  was  a  good 
thing  at  the  time,  because  in  that  way  interest  was 
gradually  spread  among  all  classes  of  the  public,  even 
to  the  practical  men  of  the  woods.  I  feel  greatly 
gratified  that  all  the  talk  that  we  of  the  earlier  ages 
performed,  has  made  it  possible  to  bring  together  such 
an  assembly  as  the  present  one,  with  practical  men,  the 
lumbermen  themselves,  in  the  audience  and  on  the 
platform.  It  has  taken  a  large  amount  of  talk  to  make 
that  possible,  but  still  more  so,  as  was  stated  by  the 
secretary  of  the  Association  this  morning,  the  natural 
development  of  economic  laws  has  brought  around  a 
good  many  who  doubted  the  necessity  and  propriety 
of  our  earlier  work. 

As  far  as  the  Federal  Government's  interests  are 
concerned,  I  dare  say  they  are  now  well  understood 
and  cared  for,  and  some  of  the  States  are  initiating 
the  Federal  Government  and  have  been  awakened  to 
their  duty.  They  have  begun  to  perform  it,  and  as 
time  goes  on,  will  perform  it  better  and  better.  As  far 
as  private  interests  are  concerned,  I  want -to  accentuate 
the  fact  which  Dr.  Schenck  tried  to  bring  out  this  morn- 
ing, namely,  that  the  lumberman  is  a  necessary  agent 
in  our  civilization  and  that  the  lumberman,  while  he 
serves  himself,  serves  civilization,  although  I  dare  say 
that  not  one  of  the  lumbermen  here  has  gone  into 
business  for  the  purpose  of  helping  civilization  along, 
but  for  the  purpose  of  helping  his  own  pocket.  The 
private  interests,  then,  leaving  out  the  interest  of  the 
nation  at  large,  lies  in  the  profit  that  might  be  expected 
from  a  change  in  the  use  of  forest  properties.  It  would 
be  difficult  for  anyone  to  prove  that  such  a  change  at 


426  Proceedings  of  the 

the  present  time,  adopting  forestry  methods,  would 
lead  to  on  immediate  increase  of  profits.  Forestry  is 
profitable  only  in  the  long  run,  in  the  future.  To 
discuss  its  profitableness  you  must  be  able  to  predict 
what  the  needs  of  the  future  in  the  use  of  wood  will 
be,  and  what  the  prices  are  likely  to  be. 

Now  I  have,  within  the  past  few  weeks,  occupied 
myself  with  this  most  important  question :  Will  wood 
prices  rise,  and  will  it  pay  at  the  present  time  to  spend 
money  in  the  care  of  forest  properties,  or  to  leave 
money  in  the  forest  properties,  not  taking  all  that  can 
be  taken  at  the  present  time  with  a  view  to  an  increased 
revenue  in  the  future?  This  is  somewhat  of  a  tech- 
nical subject,  but  I  believe  you  will  have  to  deal  here 
with  technical  subjects  in  formulating  a  policy  which 
appeals  to  the  interest  of  private  forest  owners.  Con- 
trary to  the  statement  of  some  statisticians  of  name  and 
fame,  wood  prices  have  been,  even  in  the  United  States, 
rising  continuously  for  the  last  seventy  years  at  the 
rate  of  about  one  and  one-half  per  cent;  and  at  the 
present  time,  if  you  take  shorter  periods  of  ten,  fifteen 
or  twenty  years,  you  will  find  that  this  rate  of  increase 
has  been  very  much  greater.  In  the  last  forty  years 
the  industrial  nations  of  the  world,  such  as  England, 
France  and  Germany,  as  well  as  the  United  States, 
have  increased  the  wood  consumption  to  a  marvelous 
extent,  not  according  to  the  number  of  their  population, 
but  an  increase  per  capita  consumption.  This  is  a 
remarkable  fact  when  we  consider  that  stone,  iron  and 
steel  have  taken  the  place  of  wood  in  building  materials 
to  a  large  extent,  and  coal  has  replaced  it  as  fuel.  So 
it  is  impressed  upon  us  that  our  civilization  is  con- 
tinuously dependent  upon  wood.  Hence  a  supply  for 
the  future  is  one  of  the  requisites  of  our  modern  civili- 
zation.    The  consideration  of  the  rapid  increase  in  the 


American  Forest  Congress  427 

consumption,  which  means,  of  course,  a  rapid  decrease 
in  the  natural  supply,  and  hence  an  increase  in  price,  is 
the  first  basis  upon  which  to  discuss  the  question  of 
private  interests  in  forest  properties.  We  can  now 
prove  that  forestry  will  be  profitable,  for  the  history 
of  the  past  gives  us  a  clue  to  the  history  of  the  future. 

But  we  may  discuss  this  question  and  we  may  discuss 
the  methods  of  forestry  ad  iniinitlim,  yet  we  will  never 
succeed  in  persuading  the  private  owner  until  we  have 
produced  the  conditions  which  make  it  possible  to  hold 
forest  property  uninjured  for  the  long  time  which  is 
necessary  in  order  to  reap  the  benefit.  Of  course,  you 
will  see  at  once  that  I  am  coming  to  the  fire  question. 
I  have  come  down  to  this  last  issue  as  the  one  which 
must  be  solved  first  before  the  others  can  be  ap- 
proached. One  incident  will  suffice  to  illustrate  what 
I  mean.  A  lumber  company  in  New  Hampshire  was 
induced  to  do  what  is  called  "conservative  lumbering" ; 
that  is  to  say,  not  robbing  the  forest  of  all  salable 
timber,  but  to  leave  some  for  future  taking.  They  saw 
that  was  a  good  policy  and  treated  one  hundred  thou- 
sand acres  in  that  fashion;  leaving  the  smaller  sizes 
below  a  certain  diameter.  A  fire  came  and  swept  over 
the  ground  and  destroyed  everything  that  had  been 
left,  and  now  there  is  one  friend  of  forestry  less. 

I  am  glad  to  say  that  there  are  not  any  more  of  the 
mere  economists  and  the  sentimentalists  interested  in 
this  question,  but  the  lumbermen  themselves.  With 
their  pocket-books  interested,  they  will  find  the  methods 
of  protecting  their  forest  property  and  they  will  insist 
that  the  function  of  the  State,  which  first  of  all  is  to 
protect  property,  should  be  properly  employed. 

I  do  not  know  that  I  have  been  able  to  say  anything 
that  is  new.  All  these  things  have  been  threshed  out 
for  the  last  twenty-four  years  at  least,  when  the  first 


428  Proceedings  oe  the 

Forestry  Congress  met,  and  perhaps  before  that  time. 
There  is  nothing  unknown,  so  far  as  I  am  aware,  that 
would  lead  us  to  comprehend  conditions  better,  and  it 
is  only  necessary  for  us  to  put  into  practice  what  we 
know,  TO  DO,  as  was  suggested  this  morning. 


Address  by  Mrs.  L.  P.  Williams 

Chairman  Forestry  Committee,  General  Federation  of  Women's  Clubs 

I  HAVE  not  my  resolution  in  my  pocket,  nor  have  I 
any  greetings  prepared,  and  am  somewhat  sur- 
prised to  be  called  upon  at  this  time ;  however,  I  will 
take  the  opportunity  to  say  that  it  gives  me  much 
pleasure  to  sit  in  this  meeting  and  see  these  many 
allied  interests  and  forces  drawing  together,  since 
cooperation  means  progress. 

I  am  glad  also  to  say  that  you  recognize  and  permit 
women  to  have  a  share  in  your  deliberations  and  be 
helpful  in  the  work.  Women  have  ever  been  recog- 
nized as  conservators  of  the  interests  of  the  home, 
then  why  should  they  not  assist  in  this  particular  work 
that  contributes  to  the  building  of  prosperous  homes, 
which  are  the  foundation  upon  which  national  pros- 
perity is  built? 

The  General  Federation  of  Womens  Clubs  held  its 
biennial  convention  in  St.  Louis  last  May,  and  seven 
days  Y^e  sat  in  council — daughters  from  the  South, 
v^^here  the  great,  wide-spreading  paternal  oak  vies  with 
the  palm,  magnolia,  and  acacia  in  casting  its  benign 
shade — sisters  from  the  East,  v/here  maple,  elm,  and 
chestnut  burst  into  varied  green  and  glow  and  flame 
and  mellow  under  autumn  skies.  Comrades  from  the 
North,  where  forest  paths  are  carpeted  with  the  fra- 
grant needle  of  the  fir  and  pine.     Co-workers  from  the 


American  Forest  Congress  429 

Rockies,  Cascades,  and  Sierras,  where  the  king  of  the 
larches,  the  Douglas  spruce  and  the  majestic  Sequoias 
stand  alone  as  sole  survivors  on  the  horizon  of  antiquity 
and  speak  of  a  past  so  remote  that  history  makes  no 
attempt  to  follow. 

From  each  section  of  the  country  came  the  delegates, 
that  as  loyal  daughters  of  this  Republic  they  might 
consider  those  problems  that  stand  closest  to  the 
nation's  life  and  most  affect  her  common  weal.  The 
seven  days  were  crowded  full  of  earnest  thought  and 
anxious  desire  to  know  how  best  to  combat  the  forces 
of  evil  and  dispel  ignorance  to  the  end  that  our  land 
may  be  filled  with  prosperous  homes  and  we  be  a 
virtuous  and  happy  people. 

Forestry  we  approached  last  as  if  to  be  reminded 
that  back  of  the  whirr  of  spindles,  the  infected  air  of 
sweat  shops  and  the  stiffling,  vice-polluting  atmosphere 
of  crowded  tenements,  after  consideration  of  soulless 
corporations  and  corrupt  party  politics  we  should 
move  back  to  nature  and  take  comfort  in  the  thought 
that  in  field  and  forest  lies  the  nation's  hope.  The 
land  policy  and  the  forest  policy  of  our  country  holds 
the  key  to  the  solution  of  many  of  the  problems  that 
vex  the  social  economist  of  to-day.  Henry  Clay  held, 
back  in  the  fifties,  that  the  land  policy  of  the  country 
will  be  a  vital  problem  of  the  day  after  the  tariff 
question  has  ceased  to  exist.  We  recognize  in  1905 
that  he  should  have  included  its  twin  sister,  the  forest 
policy,  which  must  go  hand  in  hand  with  the  land 
policy,  as  an  essential  part  of  it,  if  our  valleys  shall 
be  watered  and  fruitful,  our  deep  waterways  be  kept 
open  and  float  our  cargoes,  and  our  waste  land  be 
utilized  and  Columbia's  beauty  be  perpetuated. 

I  extend  to  this  body  fraternal  greetings  from  that 
General  Federation  of  Women's  Clubs,  eight  hundred 


430  Procee:dings  of  the: 

thousand  strong,  a  great  reserve  force  that  is  coming 
to  your  aid  in  forestry,  although  as  yet  you  may  regard 
us  as  the  awkward  squad.  Forestry  was  added  to  our 
work  only  three  years  ago,  but  the  committee  questions 
if  any  department  of  the  General  Federation  can  show 
so  great  an  increase  of  interest  during  the  three  years 
as  in  forestry.  Thirty-eight  States  have,  where  it  was 
not  already  a  department  of  work,  added  work  in 
forestry,  and  the  committees  are  enthusiastically 
spreading  the  propaganda  of  tree-planting,  forest 
preservation,  and  irrigation.  Like  a  prairie  fire,  in- 
terest among  State  Federations  in  national  and  State 
movements  for  the  preservation  of  large  blocks  of 
forest,  is  spreading  and  blazing  up  here  and  there 
from  the  cypress  groves  of  California  to  the  spruce 
clad  slopes  of  New  Hampshire. 

Forestry  as  apprehended  in  our  work  covers  both 
arboriculture  and  scientific  forestry.  A  very  general 
activity  is  manifest  throughout  the  length  and  breadth 
of  the  country  in  arboriculture,  or  tree-planting  for 
decorative  purposes ;  parks,  cemeteries,  school  grounds, 
highways  and  treeless  plains  in  rural  districts,  towns 
and  villages,  are  coming  into  their  inheritance  of 
beauty  and  beneficence  through  the  grateful  shade  and 
presence  in  their  midst  of  oak  and  linden,  larch  and 
chestnut,  palm  and  pine,  as  numerous  instances  in  the 
State  reports  testify.  Not  always  have  the  clubs  taken 
the  initiative,  but  all  are  actively  cooperating,  and  in 
many  cases  are  the  originators  of  forestry  movements. 

The  work  of  the  Thursday  Club  of  St.  Paul  deserves 
especial  mention.  The  club  last  spring  obtained  the 
consent  of  the  Board  of  Education  to  make  an  appeal, 
through  the  teachers  of  the  public  schools,  to  the  chil- 
dren to  purchase  and  plant  fruit  trees  on  Arbor  Day, 
which  the  club  agreed  to  furnish  at  small  cost.     The 


American  Forest  Congress  431 

Park  Commission  cooperated  and  allowed  each  child 
who  desired  to  plant  his  trees  in  one  of  the  city  parks 
to  do  so,  and  tag  it  with  his  name.  The  result  was  the 
purchase  and  planting  of  14,000  fruit  trees  by  the 
children. 

In  the  San  Diego  District  of  California,  out  of 
twenty-six  clubs,  nine  have  taken  up  the  study  of 
forestry :  Three  have  been  tree-planting,  and  the  San 
Diego  Clubs  have  raised  $5,000  to  improve  their  1,400 
acre  park.  Beaufort,  S.  C,  reports  twenty-five  miles 
of  clear  hard-shell  road,  generously  provided  with 
young  shade  trees,  and  a  Delaware  club  has  planted 
an  avenue  of  trees  one  mile  long,  reaching  from  one 
town  to  another.  The  Massachusetts  clubs  are  giving 
valuable  assistance  in  fighting  the  brown  tail  and  gipsy 
moth.  The  women  of  Salem  have  aroused  public 
interest  and  the  children  have  gathered  and  burned 
375,000  moth  nests,  and  adjacent  towns  are  following 
Salem's  example.  Salem's  latter-day  burnings  are  to 
be  commended! 

A  member  from  Minnesota  said  to  me,  "You  women 
had  so  much  to  do  with  the  repeal  of  the  'Dead  and 
Down  Timber  Act,'  under  which  the  Chippewa  Reserve 
was  administered  prior  to  the  application  of  the  Morris 
law,  that  you  ought  to  tell,  sometime  during  the  Con- 
gress, the  story  of  finding  the  lamp,  to  show  how  trees 
were  brought  under  the  'dead  and  down*  provision." 
To  make  sentiment  for  the  repeal  of  the  bill  the  Min- 
nesota club  women  planned  an  excursion  to  Leech 
Lake,  which  is  within  the  reserve.  The  lumbermen 
in  Minnesota  are  not  all  converted  to  conservative 
forestry,  and  gallantry  sometimes  is  forgotten  when 
''so  many  board  feet  measure"  enter  into  the  proposi- 
tion. Our  party  numbered  about  fifty,  and  included 
Miss  Dock,  a  member  of  the  Pennsylvania  Forestry 


432  Procekdings  o^  the 

Commission,  who  is  a  delegate  to  this  convention. 
There  were  two  available  steamers  on  the  lake  that 
were  very  good,  and  one  poor  old  house-boat.  The 
manager  had  chartered  the  steamers  for  our  use; 
imagine  our  surprise  on  arriving  to  learn  that  the 
night  before  the  boiler  of  the  best  steamer  had  been 
scuttled  and  put  out  of  use  and  at  daybreak  the  other 
steamer  was  seen  scudding  off  down  the  lake.  A 
launch  was  sent  flying  after  the  steamer,  and  it  was 
finally  hailed  and  the  captain  asked  to  explain  where 
he  was  going,  and  why  he  had  broken  faith  with  the 
ladies.  "Oh,"  he  replied,  "a  lumberman  down  the 
lake  has  engaged  the  steamer  for  a  week." 

Fortunately,  a  boiler  inspector  reached  the  town  that 
morning,  special  providence  you  know,  and  resenting 
such  ungallant  treatment  of  the  ladies,  declared  if  it 
was  possible  the  boat  should  be  put  in  repair  and  be 
ready  for  use  the  following  morning.  Blacksmiths, 
plumbers  and  carpenters,  all  lent  a  hand,  and  by  noon 
the  following  day  the  party  was  able  to  go  aboard. 

Our  forestry  friend  from  Pennsylvania  was  anxious 
to  see  the  character  of  the  second  growth  on  the 
reserve,  and  seeing  a  bold  bluff  at  that  point,  and  with 
Father  Wright,  chief  of  the  Chippewas  and  missionary 
at  the  agency  for  forty  years,  to  act  as  guide,  we  made 
a  landing. 

Our  astonishment  can  be  imagined  when  we  found 
each  one  of  those  beautiful  old  virgin  pines  burned  at 
the  root,  just  enough  to  bring  it  under  the  condemned 
list.  Unfamiliar  with  the  vicious  workings  of  the  dead 
and  down  law,  we  looked  about  to  learn  the  cause  of 
the  fire.  Not  a  leaf,  twig,  or  grass  blade  was  scorched, 
there  was  no  sign  of  tramp  or  camper,  but  on  examin- 
ing the  burning  in  the  noblest  tree  of  all  the  group  we 
discovered  a  small  kerosene  lamp  almost  melted  down. 


Ame:rican  Fore:st  Congress  433 

Father  Wright  sat  at  a  little  distance  looking  out 
at  the  blue  waters  of  the  lake  over  which  for  centuries 
the  birch  canoes  of  his  people  had  glided  so  swiftly. 
We  approached,  and  holding  aloft  the  lamp,  said: 
''What  does  this  mean?"  With  a  pathos  in  his  voice 
that  I  shall  never  forget,  he  replied,  "Dead  and  Down 
Timber  Act,  burn,  want  to  buy." 

I  assure  you  the  old  lamp  was  good  campaign  mate- 
rial. At  our  next  State  meeting,  when  our  brothers 
were  present,  we  told  the  story  and  exhibited  the  lamp 
and  said,  "Are  not  the  Indians  the  wards  of  this  nation  ? 
Shall  we,  through  our  laws,  offer  a  premium  for 
criminal  practices?  This  lamp  should  cause  blush  of 
shame  to  mantle  the  cheek  of  every  honest  voter  in 
Minnesota  and  kindle  a  back  fire  of  indignation  that 
should  wipe  from  off  the  statutes  such  nefarious  laws. 

It  is  true,  women  do  not  vote,  but  who  shall  say 
that  they  are  actually  "counted  out?"  Let  me  illus- 
trate that  we  have  a  little  influence,  by  another  incident 
in  our  forest  reserve  campaign.  When  the  stress 
came,  and  the  news  reached  us  that  some  of  our 
Minnesota  members  in  Washington  had  gone  over  to 
the  enemy,  the  club  women  concluded  it  was  desirable 
to  send  representatives  to  interview  our  Congressmen. 
On  reaching  Washington,  we  first  sent  our  cards  to  a 
member  with  whom  we  had  a  personal  acquaintance, 
and  were  received  most  graciously  with  this  greeting, 
"When  did  you  arrive,  how  did  you  leave  my  con- 
stituents, and  what  can  I  do  to  enhance  the  pleasure 
and  profit  of  your  visit?"  But  as  soon  as  we  men- 
tioned the  forest  reserve  the  atmosphere  seemed  sud- 
denly struck  by  a  nor'easter  and  the  mercury  fell  as 
quickly  as  at  Chilkoot  Pass,  and  in  icy  accents  these 
words  fell  upon  our  ears:  "Well,  ladies,  Fm  not  much 
interested  in  that  forest  reserve  scheme,  and  I  don't 


434  Proceedings  oi^  the 

think  my  constituents  are!"  We  replied  are  we  not 
your  constituents  ?  "Oh,  yes,  of  course,  I  want  to  please 
the  ladies,"  he  answered,  and  triflingly  added,  "but 
you  know  the  mosquitoes  are  too  thick!"  Disregard- 
ing his  trifling  remark,  the  women  of  Minnesota  are 
desperately  in  earnest  in  this  matter.  We  represent 
the  State  Federation  of  Women's  Clubs,  which  has  a 
membership  of  between  six  and  seven  thousand,  and 
you  know  that  six  or  seven  thousand  women  represent 
collectively  six  or  seven  thousand  husbands  and  a  few 
thousand  sons,  who  will  possibly  vote  as  their  fathers 
vote.  We  grant  you,  the  mosquitoes  are  thick,  but 
they  could  hardly  disable  you  for  your  Congressional 
duties,  but  beware  of  setting  six  or  seven  thousand 
bees  buzzing  in  women's  bonnets.  And,  strange  to 
relate,  the  mercury  began  to  rise  until  the  atmosphere 
was  quite  tropical. 

Some  two  weeks  later,  having  retired  from^  the  field, 
we  dared  to  send  a  batch  of  petitions  to  this  same 
member,  and  received  this  gracious  answer:  "Yours 
at  hand,  petitions  submitted  to  the  House  and  referred 
to  the  Committee  on  Public  Lands,  and  I  desire  to 
assure  you,  if  I  can  advance  the  interests  of  the  forest 
reserve  movement  in  any  way,  command  my  services 
at  any  time." 

Do  not  think  our  interview  with  the  member  was 
intended  to  savor  of  intimidation.  We  simply  stated 
facts  and  gave  a  little  kindly  information.  You  know 
a  woman  has  no  "axe  to  grind,"  she  just  speaks  out 
what  is  in  her  heart,  and  so  sometimes  it  carries 
weight — being  a  club  woman,  of  course  it  carried 
weight. 

I  desire  to  say,  in  closing,  that  the  passage  of  a  bill 
to  increase  the  Navy  of  the  United  States,  finds  many 
friends,   and   is   an   easy   proposition   compared   with 


American  Forest  Congress  435 

securing  an  appropriation  for  a  forest  reserve,  for 
you  see  there  isn't  anything  in  the  latter  for  anybody 
except  the  people.  While,  for  the  former  you  can 
''line  up"  a  solid  phalanx  of  shipbuilders,  armor  plate, 
and  boiler  makers  and  all  their  henchmen  to  bear  down 
upon  our  Congressmen  with  silver-tipped  arrows  and 
promissory  appeals  that  win.  We  foresters  work  for 
the  people,  and  so  oftimes  our  arguments  and  bills 
have  to  wait  a  long  while  before  they  are  given  a 
hearing  and  penetrate  the  crust  of  human  selfishness! 


Address  by  Filibert  Roth 

Professor  of  Forestry,  University  of  Michigan 

I  CAME  here  as  an  individual  to  enjoy  meeting 
friends  and  gather  inspiration  which  will  enable 
me  to  perform  better  my  duty  as  a  citizen,  as  a  servant 
of  the  Michigan  Forestry  Commission,  and  as  a  teacher 
at  the  University.  I  also  came  here  as  the  servant 
of  that  Commission,  representing  it,  I  am  afraid,  very 
poorly.  I  came  here  to  say  to  you  that  Michigan  is 
still  in  the  front  ranks  of  this  union  as  one  of  its 
greatest  States.  For  nearly  a  century  we  in  Michigan 
have  been  hewing  out  of  the  forests  the  homes  for 
more  than  two  million  people,  our  lumbermen  have 
hustled,  and  have  provided  the  lumber  to  build  the 
homes  of  the  prairie  States  from  the  Dominion  to 
Texas.  We  worked  faster  than  we  knew.  Had  we 
continued  with  the  ox  team  and  the  old-time  ''up  and 
down"  sash  saw,  we  would  still  have  pine  to  sell.  But 
the  old  methods  were  too  slow ;  the  old-fashioned  "cog 
gear"  gave  away  to  "rope  feed,"  and  rope  feed  was 
thrown  away  and  replaced  by  "shotgun"  feed  to  rush 
the  timber  against  the  whirling  saw. 

Working  with  steam  and  electricity  we  went  beyond 


436  Proceedings  oe  t?ie 

our  proper  mark,  and  for  years  it  seemed  as  if  the  signs 
of  the  times  would  remain  unheeded.  And  man}^  of 
us  began  to  wonder  what  the  matter  was  with  our 
State  of  Michigan.  The  people  of  the  Dominion,  our 
neighbors,  were  awake,  and  introduced  better  methods ; 
the  older  States  had  gone  ahead,  and,  realizing  that 
they,  too,  had  gone  too  far,  had  begun  to  check  the 
damage  and  prepare  for  its  correction;  but  we  in  our 
State  were  still  going  the  swift  pace  of  slaughter  and 
destruction.  Were  we  to  be  behind?  No.  I  have 
come  to  say  to  you  that  Michigan  is  not  behind  the 
rest  of  the  States.  We  were  merely  too  busy  to  realize 
just  where  we  were.  Michigan  has  awakened  to  the 
importance  of  doing;  she  has  begun  to  check  the  evil, 
she  is  organizing  to  repair  the  damage.  Michigan  has 
a  Forestry  Commission,  which  looks  after  the  forest 
interests  of  the  State;  it  has  begun  a  proper  land 
policy  and  established  the  nucleus  of  a  State  forest,  and 
is  training  its  boys  in  the  care  of  the  woods  at  its  two 
great  institutions,  the  University  of  Michigan,  and  the 
Agricultural  College.  The  business  men  of  every  city 
in  the  State  are  united  in  a  desire — even  demand — 
that  something  be  done  and  done  at  once,  to  check 
further  timber  devastation  and  to  restore  to  the  State 
the  supply  of  material  so  necessary  for  its  welfare. 
We  have  with  us  the  people,  even  the  women  of  our 
State  have  taken  up  the  matter  of  forestry,  and  that 
great  factor  of  civilization,  civic  and  social  improve- 
ment, the  Federation  of  Womens  Clubs  of  Michigan 
has  begun  a  systematic,  well  directed  campaign  in  favor 
of  State  and  private  forestry.  We  are  moving,  and 
our  path  is  clearly  before  us,  and  our  opportunities  are 
as  good  as  those  of  any  State  in  the  Union.  It  gives 
me  great  pleasure  to  tell  you  of  this,  and  to  say  that 
Michigan  is  here  with  you,  and  stands  ready  to  co- 
operate with  its  sister  States  in  this  great  movement. 


American  Forest  Congress  437 

Address  by  Dr.  C.  A.  Schenck 

Director,  Biltmore  Forest  School 

IV  yf  Y  connection  with  forestry  in  western  North 
^^'^  CaroHna  is  of  a  three-fold  character:  I  am  a 
kimberman,  a  forester  and  a  teacher. 

I  am  a  lumberman,  and  I  must  confess  to  being 
somewhat  afraid  as  a  lumberman  to  appear  before  this 
audience.  Still,  while  in  charge  of  a  large  forest  in 
western  North  Carolina,  I  cannot  help  being  a  lum- 
berman. Without  lumbering  no  cash  dividend  is  ob- 
tainable from  forest  investments.  Therefore,  I  cut 
the  trees,  though  I  can  truthfully  add  that  I  do  not 
cut  all  the  tree — for  the  reason  that  it  pays  better  not 
to  cut  all  of  them,  under  the  conditions  now  prevailing 
in  western  North  Carolina. 

We  are  just  beginning  a  new  year,  and,  as  new  year's 
wishes  are  in  order,  I  wish  that  every  one  of  you  were 
possessed  of  50,000  acres  of  hardwood  lands  in  the 
Appalachian  range !  If  you  were  the  owners  of  such 
timber  tracts  in  our  mountains,  or  anywhere  in  the 
East,  what  would  you  do  with  the  timber  ?  I  ask  your 
conscience,  would  you  let  the  timber  stand,  or  would 
you  convert  that  timber,  all  of  it  or  part  of  it,  into 
money?  We  are  in  the  habit  of  blaming  the  other 
fellow  for  cutting  the  trees.  Now,  pardon  me  when 
I  ask :  What  would  you  do  with  the  trees  if  you 
owned  them? 

Secondly,  I  am  a  forester,  and  as  a  forester  I  am 
meant  to  raise  trees,  partly  by  planting,  partly  by 
lending  Nature  a  helping  hand.  The  owner  of  the 
Biltmore  estate,  without  doubt,  would  authorize  me  to 
practice  more  silviculture  if  he  could  consider  silvicul- 
ture (the  raising  and  tending  of  a  second  growth)  a 
remunerative  investment;  I  had  better,  perhaps,  say  a 

safe  and  remunerative  investment. 

o 


43^  Proceedings  of  the) 

However,  as  fires  annually  rage  over  large  sections 
of  our  grounds,  it  is  hazardous — nay!  it  is  almost 
folly — to  invest  money  in  silvicultural  pursuits.  At 
Biltmore  we  are  forced  to  restrict  reforestation  to  such 
regions  in  the  proximity  of  Biltmore  House  in  which 
we  can  control  fires  absolutely.  In  a  large  primeval 
tract  covering  120,000  acres  of  backwoods,  absolute 
fire  protection  is  out  of  the  question.  Here  I  do  not 
attempt  to  enforce  regeneration,  simply  allowing  Na- 
ture to  do  the  work  as  best  she  can,  trying  at  the  same 
time  to  protect  the  second  growth  from  fire  wherever 
it  appears. 

Foresters  are  very  frequently,  I  think,  of  the  opinion 
that  the  little  trees — second  growth — are  really  the 
best  money  makers.  Foresters  working  in  the  Appa- 
lachians might  just  as  well  begin  to  change  their 
minds.  The  fact  has  been  pointed  out  to-day  re- 
peatedly that  the  price  of  hardwood  stumpage  is 
increasing  rapidly.  If  that  is  true,  the  big  tree  is  the 
best  money  maker,  and  really  mature  trees  do  not 
exist — moribunds  excepted — where  and  as  long  as  the 
price  of  stumpage  advances  rapidly. 

In  1896  I  sold  many  a  fine  white  oak  at  fifty  cents 
per  thousand  feet,  board  measure.  I  wish  I  could 
replace  these  trees.  I  would  gladly  put  them  back  in 
the  woods  at  $4  a  thousand — ^because  they  are  worth 
now  $5  a  thousand.  In  1898  I  got  for  similar  trees 
$1.25  a  thousand  feet,  board  measure;  in  1902  I  re- 
ceived $2.50,  and  last  year  I  found  a  man  who  was 
willing  to  give  me  as  much  as  $8  per  thousand ! 

Thus  it  happens  that  the  big  trees — the  three,  four, 
five  and  six-footers — are  my  pride,  more  so  than  the 
seedlings  and  saplings.  I  hold  the  big  giants  dearly; 
I  refrain  from  cutting  them — merely  for  the  reason 
that  they  are  my  best  money  makers,  the  best  part  of 
my  investments — and  also  the  safest  part  of  my  invest- 


Ami:rican  Forest  Congress  439 

ments  since  they  are  not  subject  to  destructive  forest 
fires.     So  much  for  the  forest. 

Finally,  I  am  the  director  of  the  Biltmore  Forest 
School,  established  at  Biltmore,  North  Carolina,  in 
1898.  I  am  delighted,  though  it  makes  me  feel  old,  to 
see  so  many  of  my  former  pupils  present  in  this  hall. 
Permit  me  to  use  this  chance  for  reminding  them  for- 
cibly of  my  old  demands  and  unceasing  teachings — so 
often  repeated  with  the  regularity  of  a  canary  bird  or  of 
a  whippoorwill — ^keep  constantly  before  your  eyes  the 
fact  that  forestry  subserves  lumbering,  that  forestry  is 
lumbering  to  a  very  large  extent. 

Silviculture  and  lumbering  together  will,  I  think, 
compose  the  work  of  the  forester  in  this  country  for 
many  a  year  to  come.  The  greater  portion  of  prac- 
tical wood's  work  will  lie  in  the  line  of  lumbering,  and 
the  lesser  part  will  consist  of  silviculture  merely  be- 
cause silviculture  is  not  as  safe  an  investment  at 
present,  nor  is  it  as  remunerative  as  lumbering. 

The  time  will  come  when  the  reserve  will  be  the 
case.  It  will  come  when  the  superiority  of  conserva- 
tive lumbering  over  destructive  lumbering  is  clearly 
evidenced  by  the  larger  number  of  dollars  which  con- 
servative lumbering  can  draw  as  a  dividend  from  the 
forest. 


Address  by  Rutherford  P.  Hayes 

President,  The  Appalachian  Forest  Reserve  Association 

C  O  far  most  of  the  discussions  here  have  related  to 
the  extreme  West.  The  problems  that  they  are 
working  out  there  we  have  with  us  in  the  Southern 
Appalachians.  The  effect  of  destroying  the  forests 
and  filling  up  the  rivers  is  comparable  with  what  is 
going  on  now  on  the  eastern  slope  of  the  Blue  Ridge 


440  Proceedings  of  the 

Mountains.  The  rivers  running  from  there  through 
North  Carolina,  South  Carolina  and  Georgia  used  to 
be  all  clear  mountain  streams,  and  in  times  of  flood 
there  was  simply  a  flow  of  water  and  after  it  passed 
away  that  was  the  end  of  it.  Now  they  have  their 
times  of  higher  flood  and  their  times  of  greater  drought 
and  the  river  beds  and  mill  dams  are  all  being  ruined 
by  the  silt  that  is  washed  down.  We  seem  to  have  a 
very  much  more  fluid  soil  when  it  gets  wet  than  a  great 
deal  of  that  we  have  in  the  North,  and  the  extent  of 
this  destruction  is  becoming  apparent  all  through  the 
South.  On  the  Catawba  River  what  were  a  few  years 
ago  good  farm  lands  are  now  covered  with  eight,  ten, 
or  twelve  feet  of  s-and  and  gravel.  Two  years  ago 
there  was  a  flood  along  the  French  Broad  River  and 
the  destruction  was  very  great.  It  reached  Knoxville, 
and  it  was  the  first  time  that  anybody  in  Tennessee 
had  become  interested  in  the  preservation  of  these 
forests. 

We  have  standing  on  the  Appalachian  Mountains, 
the  Blue  Ridge  and  the  great  Smoky  ranges  from 
southern  Virginia  through  to  northern  Alabama,  the 
last  remains  of  the  hardwood  forests  of  the  East.  The 
Blue  Ridge  is  pretty  well  cleared.  We  have  been  try- 
ing, through  our  Appalachian  Forest  Reserve  Associa- 
tion, to  create  an  interest  in  Congress  that  would  save 
the  balance  of  this  country  from  being  cleared.  Con- 
gress has  appropriated  over  four  and  one-half  million 
dollars  in  the  past  three  years  for  the  improvement  of 
the  rivers  in  this  section,  and  unless  these  forests  are 
preserved,  most  of  this  money  is  wasted.  The  Great 
Smoky  range,  the  boundary  line  between  North  Caro- 
lina and  Tennessee,  has  been  inaccessible  as  compared 
with  the  Blue  Ridge,  and  is  little  cleared.  I  do  not 
know  how  much  you  know  of  the  particulars  of  that 
country.     We  have  as  rough  mountains  as  they  have  in 


American  Forest  Congress  441 

the  Rocky  Mountains.  We  have  what  they  had  years 
ago,  mountains  covered  with  forests.  We  are  getting 
to  have  what  they  have  now,  bare  mountains.  The 
illustrations  that  are  being  given  of  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains and  the  results  that  are  going  on  there,  we  can 
see  in  all  its  different  states,  and  we  arc  anxious  to 
have  our  friends  help  us  to  try  and  save  this  great 
region.  Looking  at  it  from  the  economic  point,  it 
means  the  saving  of  water  power,  and  the  transporta- 
tion of  the  entire  South,  from  where  the  Tennessee 
River  enters  the  Ohio,  to  the  south  and  east  clear 
around  to  the  Potomac  River. 

I  have  prepared  a  resolution  on  the  subject  of  forest 
reservation  and  will  present  it  to  the  Resolutions  Com- 
mittee. We  want  to  have  the  Government  buy  this 
tract  of  land  in  the  Great  Smoky  Mountains,  the  boun- 
dary between  North  Carolina  and  Tennessee,  about 
two  hundred  miles  long  and  from  twenty  to  forty  miles 
wide,  and  control  it  as  the  forest  reserves  in  the  West 
are  controlled.  If  any  one  within  that  territory  wishes 
to  retain  his  property  and  will  manage  it  on  proper 
forest  plans,  there  will  be  no  reason  for  interfering 
with  him.  There  will  be  rights  of  way  through  the 
forest  reserve  the  same  as  has  been  mentioned  for  the 
West.  This  reserve  will  be  within  twenty-four  hours* 
ride  of  three-fourths  of  the  population  of  the  United 
States,  and  would  be  available  as  a  pleasure  ground  for 
a  large  proportion  of  our  country.  Of  course  the 
Yellowstone  Park  is  the  park  of  the  United  States, 
but  a  forest  reserve  in  the  Southern  Appalachians, 
which  could  be  used  as  a  pleasure  ground  as  well, 
would  be  of  much  more  immediate  interest  to  our 
people  than  one  so  far  away  as  the  other.  As  I  said 
before,  I  will  prepare  a  resolution  and  give  it  to  our 
Resolutions  Committee  and  hope  for  your  favorable 
support. 


442  Proce:e:dings  of  the: 

Address  by  Mr.  Elihu  Stewart 

Superintendent,  Forestry  Branch,  Department  of  the  Interior,  Canada 

I  HAVE  listened  with  a  great  deal  of  pleasure  indeed 
to  the  various  addresses  that  have  been  made, 
and  above  all,  I  think  all  who  have  come  from  across 
the  lines  and  all  who  have  come  from  this  side  of 
the  lines,  cannot  help  but  be  wonderfully  impressed 
with  the  magnificent  address  that  President  Roosevelt 
gave  us  yesterday. 

I  have  heard  a  good  deal  about  your  system  of  work, 
and  I  am  in  position  to  know  what  your  Bureau  of 
Forestry  is  doing,  because  I  get  all  its  bulletins.  But 
above  all,  with  such  a  President  as  you  have,  with  such 
a  head  of  the  nation  as  you  have,  and  with  such  an 
administrator  as  you  have  in  Mr.  Pinchot,  I  feel  that 
there  is  a  guaranty  above  all  others  that  your  forestry 
matters  will  be  looked  after  in  the  future,  and  that 
you  will  progress  in  the  lines  that  Mr.  Pinchot  has  so 
admirably  pointed  out  as  the  direction  he  intends  to 
give  the  interests  of  forestry  matters  in  the  United 
States  of  America.  I  am  not  going  to  say  a  word 
about  our  system  across  the  line.  My  friend,  Mr. 
White,  has,  I  think,  done  that  sufficiently,  and  more 
in  that  line  would  not  be  interesting  to  you,  except 
this: 

It  has  only  been  about  five  years  since  I  undertook, 
in  a  very  feeble  way,  to  organize  the  forestry  service 
for  the  Federal  Government  in  Canada.  Shortly  after 
starting  the  work,  I  wrote  to  my  friend  Pinchot  and 
told  him  I  was  anxious  to  learn  of  the  workings  of  the 
Bureau  here,  and  asked  him  if  he  would  be  kind 
enough  to  let  me  know  when  he  thought  would  be  best 
or  most  convenient  for  me  to  come  here  and  endeavor 
to  get  information  as  to  the  workings  of  his  Bureau 


American  Forest  Congress  443 

in  this  country,  which  had  been  in  operation  for  some 
little  time.  He  replied  that  he  thought  the  best  time 
would  be  when  the  meeting  of  the  American  Forestry 
Association  was  being  held.  So  I  came  over — I  think 
it  was  five  years  ago — and  on  my  return — I  think 
somewhere  between  here  and  Baltimore — I  was  alone 
on  the  train.  I  went  into  the  smoker,  and  I  think  there 
must  have  been  inspiration  there — it  isn't  often  I  have 
inspirations,  and  don't  believe  I  ever  had  one  before 
that  resulted  in  anything,  but  this  one  did — for  it 
occurred  to  me,  why  could  not  we  have  a  Canadian 
Forestry  Association  ?  Once  the  thought  flashed  across 
my  mind  I  knew  that  we  could ;  and  1  want  to  say  that 
as  a  legitimate  offspring  of  that  inspiration  and  his 
association  in  the  United  States,  we  have  a  most  suc- 
cessful one  in  Canada.  Not  so  much  on  account  of 
the  numbers — we  have  only  about  six  hundred  mem- 
bers as  yet — but  it  is  the  personnel.  We  found  that 
the  best  people  in  the  country  were  just  waiting  for 
an  opportunity  to  express  their  views  collectively  and 
at  once.  We  got  together  a  committee  formed  gover- 
nors, ex-governors,  senators,  and  influential  men"  in 
every  part  of  the  Dominion,  commencing  in  Prince  Ed- 
ward Island,  where  we  have  one  of  the  most  active  men, 
through  Nova  Scotia,  New  Brunswick,  and  every  dis- 
trict in  the  great  Northwest — even  the  Yukon.  Every 
district  is  represented.  Aid  without  taking  up  your 
time — as  I  know  I  must  not  do  so — I  wish  to  say  that 
we  are  having  a  meeting  in  the  old  city  of  Quebec 
on  the  nth  of  March — a  meeting  of  that  association, 
and  I  want  to  invite  every  one  who  can  come  from 
this  side  of  the  line  to  come  over  at  that  time  and  make 
us  a  visit. 

One  thought  more  occurs  to  me.  We  have  a  fire 
ranging  system  in  the  West  similar  to  yours  in  the 
reserves.     I  was  away  out  in  Alberta,  near  the  Priest 


444  Procee:dings  01^  THE 

River  Reserve,  and  two  of  the  rangers  came  over  while 
I  was  at  a  Httle  town  called  Cardston.  I  think  perhaps 
it  was  their  practice  to  come  over  there  on  Saturday 
nights.  They  were  in  the  hotel,  discussing  interna- 
tional matters — the  boundaries.  I  had  to  go  back 
about  eleven  o'clock  at  night  in  order  to  start  in  the 
morning,  and  about  that  time  the  discussion  was  be- 
coming very  animated.  I  hope  it  has  been  decided. 
I  simply  say  that  in  order  to  show  how  closely  the 
people  out  there  along  the  boundaries  are  related. 
And  as  being  of  interest  to  the  people  of  Washington 
and  Oregon,  I  wish  to  say  that  we  are  doing  all  we 
can  to  guard  the  timber  upon  the  upper  reaches  of 
the  Columbia  River,  which,  as  you  know,  has  its  rise 
in  British  Columbia  and  finally  finds  its  outlet  at 
Astoria,  and  we  shall  continue  to  do  our  part  so  far  as 
our  limited  means  will  permit. 


Address  by  Mr.  G.  O.  Shields 

President,  League  of  American  Sportsmen 

I  REPRESENT  the  League  of  American  Sportsmen, 
which  has  a  membership  of  10,700  men  and 
women,  distributed  throughout  every  State  and  Terri- 
tory of  the  Union,  also  largely  in  Canada  and  Mexico. 
As  every  man  who  has  ever  thought  of  the  subject 
knows,  the  causes  of  game  protection  and  forest  pro- 
tection go  hand  in  hand.  Whatever  you  ladies  and 
gentlemen  do  in  the  interest  of  preserving  the  forests 
you  do  as  well  in  the  interest  of  preserving  the  wild 
life  of  this  country,  and  we  claim  that  is  a  subject 
worthy  the  attention  of  all  earnest  men  and  women. 

We  have  two  important  measures  before  Congress 
to-day,  on  which  we  need  the  assistance  of  this  Con- 


American  Forest  Congress  445 

gress.  One  of  these  concerns  especially  the  Territory 
of  Oklahoma,  of  which  my  friend  has  just  spoken. 
The  Wichita  Forest  Reserve  was  created  some  years 
ago,  and  Congressman  Lacey,  of  Iowa,  introduced  a 
bill  at  the  last  session  to  erect  that  forest  reserve  into 
a  game  preserve,  for  the  purpose  of  propagating  quail, 
prairie  chickens,  wild  turkeys  and  deer,  and  then 
shipping  them  to  the  Northern  and  Eastern  States, 
where  they  have  been  exterminated  or  nearly  so. 

The  other  measure  affects  all  the  forest  reservations. 
It  aims  to  empower  the  President  of  the  United  States 
to  set  aside  certain  sections  in  forest  reserves  already 
created,  to  be  known  as  game  preserves;  to  stop  all 
shooting  thereon  and,  if  necessary,  all  fishing;  to  let 
the  game  have  a  few  asylums  in  these  mountain  regions 
where  it  can  live  and  increase. 

Every  man  and  woman  in  this  audience  knows  what 
a  wonderful  success  has  been  made  in  the  Yellowstone 
Park,  in  preserving  the  wild  animals  there.  Mr.  Lacey 
told  me  to-day  he  had  just  seen  photographs  from  the 
park  showing  500  antelope  grazing,  some  of  them  in 
the  streets  of  Gardner,  a  town  five  miles  outside  the 
park.  There  are  supposed  to  be  30,000  or  35,000  elk 
in  the  park.  There  are  about  forty  buffaloes,  several 
hundred  Rocky  Mountain  sheep  and  many  thousands 
of  deer. 

I  want  to  impress  on  your  minds  these  important 
facts  that  are  associated  so  intimately  with  the  cause 
of  forest  preservation.  The  object  of  setting  aside 
these  forest  reserves,  the  primary  object,  is  to  preserve 
trees ;  the  secondary  object,  the  important  one  of  the 
association  I  represent,  is  the  preservation  of  wild 
animals  and  birds.  We  are  working  as  industriously 
for  the  preservation  of  insectivorous  and  song  birds 
as  we  are  for  the  game  birds. 


44^  Proceedings  oe  the 

Another  thing  I  desire  to  call  attention  to,  and  on 
this  point  I  shall  present  a  resolution  when  the  time 
comes.  It  is  the  disastrous  and  alarming  destruction 
of  our  forest  for  the  purpose  of  making  paper.  We 
must  all  have  our  reading  matter,  and  the  problem  of 
supplying  wood  pulp  for  the  making  of  paper  is  a 
serious  one.  I  do  not  know  whether  it  is  to  be  taken 
up  in  this  Congress  or  not,  but  it  certainly  should  be 
considered.  I  want  you  to  ask  Congress  to  offer  a 
very  generous  reward  to  any  person  who  will  devise 
or  discover  a  method  of  making  pulp,  and  from  that 
paper,  from  any  product  that  farmers  can  raise  on 
their  farms  every  year.  It  seems  to  me  this  is  a  very 
important  subject  for  this  Congress  to  consider. 


Address  by  Mr.  Charles  L.  Pack 

nrHERE  is  little  I  can  say  to  edify  this  Congress. 
I  am  simply  a  plain  owner  of  trees,  of  forest 
lands  in  different  parts  of  the  country.  I  have  taken 
great  interest  in  this  subject  for  many  years,  and  I 
may  say  also  that  I  have  learned  a  great  deal  this  week 
in  Washington.  I  have  studied  the  commercial  side 
of  forestry  at  home  and  abroad,  and  I  have  come  to 
believe  that  the  man  who  cuts  down  a  tree  should  plant 
or  cultivate  or  care  for  two  new  ones.  Our  economic 
laws  should  make  it  an  inducement  for  him  to  do  so. 
We  must  do  something  to  catch  up,  as  we  have  been 
very  tardy  in  applying  what  experience  teaches  on 
this  subject.  The  problem  of  private  forestry  is  a 
great  one.  I  am  caring  for,  at  present,  several  thou- 
sand acres  of  small  timber  in  different  parts  of  the 
country,  but  I  am  faced  with  the  taxation  question; 


American  Forest  Congress  447 

and  I  think  one  of  the  greatest  questions  of  forestry 
within  the  States  having  to  do  with  the  private  owner- 
ship of  the  forest  and  the  promotion  of  forestry  locally, 
is  the  taxation  question.  Much  baby  timber  is  cut 
because  its  owners  can't  pay  exorbitant  taxes.  I  will 
not  detain  you  by  giving  my  ideas  at  this  time  upon 
the  subject,  but  I  think  an  equitable  State  taxation 
scheme  can  be  devised  with  the  aid  of  those  present. 
I  believe  that  the  time  is  long  past  when  the  Govern- 
ment should,  through  the  operation  of  any  law,  sell  or 
dispose  of  timber  by  the  acre,  but  that  every  tree 
disposed  of  should  be  under  the  direction  of  the  Forest 
Service,  and  be  sold  by  the  thousand  feet.  And,  I 
believe,  further,  that  while  in  years  past  our  forefathers 
cut  the  trees  of  the  forest  without  leave  or  hindrance, 
that  now  we  all  readily  see  that  no  man  has  a  private 
right  to  the  timber  on  public  lands  without  paying  a 
full  consideration.  Under  our  present  laws  much  tim- 
ber is  annually  obtained,  and  at  a  fraction  of  its  actual 
value.  And,  I  believe,  that  the  same  is  true  with 
regard  to  the  use  of  the  forest  reserves  by  the  stock- 
man, by  the  sheep  raiser  and  the  cattle  raiser.  I  think 
the  time  is  at  hand  when  they  should  pay  a  small,  but 
equitable  and  just  charge  for  the  use  of  the  ranges. 


RESOLUTIONS     ADOPTED     BY      THE 
AMERICAN    FOREST    CONGRESS 

Resolved,  That  we  urge  upon  Congress  and  upon 
all  legislative  bodies  the  necessity  at  all  times  of  giv- 
ing full  protection  to  the  forests  of  the  country  and  of 
preserving  them  through  wise  and  beneficent  laws,  so 
that  they  may  contribute  in  the  most  complete  manner 
to  the  continued  prosperity  of  the  country. 

Resolved,  That  we  earnestly  commend  to  all  state 
authorities  the  enactment  and  enforcement  of  laws  for 
the  protection  of  the  forests  from  fire,  and  for  reduc- 
ing the  burden  of  taxation  on  lands  held  for  forest  re- 
production in  order  that  persons  and  corporations  may 
be  induced  to  put  in  practice  the  principles  of  forest 
conservation. 

Resolved,  That  we  are  in  entire  accord  with  the  ef- 
orts  to  repeal  the  Timber  and  Stone  Act,  and  we  favor 
the  passage  of  an  act  as  a  substitute  therefor  which 
shall  confer  authority  upon  the  proper  officer  of  the 
United  States  to  sell  timber  growing  on  the  public 
lands  when  such  sale  shall  be  for  the  public  welfare. 

Resolved,  That  we  favor  the  passage  by  Congress  of 
an  amendment  to  the  law  regarding  exchange  of  lands 
included  within  a  forest  reserve  so  that  such  exchanges 
or  lieu  selections  shall  be  confined  to  lands  of  equivalent 
value  or  similar  condition  as  regards  forest  growth.* 

Resolved,  That  the  law  which  prohibits  the  export 
of  forest  reserve  timber  from  the  state  in  which  it  is 
grown  should  be  repealed  as  to  the  states  in  which  the 
export  of  such  timber  is  in  the  public  interest,  and  in  no 
others. 

*Iyieu  land  law  was  repealed. 


American  Forest  Congress  449 

Resolved,  That  we  favor  the  passage  of  a  law  which 
will  authorize  the  sale  of  all  non-mineral  products 
of  the  forest  reserves,  the  proceeds  of  such  sales  to  be 
applied  to  their  management  and  protection,  and  the 
construction  of  roads  and  trails  within  the  forest  re- 
serve. 

Resolved,  That  we  heartily  approve  the  movement 
for  the  unification  of  all  the  forest  work  of  the  Govern- 
ment, including  the  administration  of  the  National 
Forest  Reserves,  in  the  Department  of  Agriculture, 
and  urge  upon  Congress  the  necessity  for  immediate 
action  to  that  end.** 

Resolved,  That  Congress  declare  forfeited  all  right 
of  way  permits  not  exercised  promptly  upon  issuance, 
and  secure  to  all  industries  engaged  in  lawful  busi- 
ness, and  which  will  exercise  promptly  their  permits, 
the  possession  of  necessary  rights  of  way,  in  the  same 
manner  that  railroads  and  irrigating  companies  are 
secured  in  their  rights  of  way,  and  that  the  various 
right-of-way  acts  on  forest  reserves  and  other  public 
lands  be  so  amended  as  to  provide  for  reasonable  pay- 
ment for  the  use  of  these  valuable  rights. 

Resolved,  That  this  Congress  urges  upon  all  schools, 
and  especially  the  rural  schools,  the  necessity  for  a 
study  of  forests  and  tree-planting  in  their  effect  upon 
the  general  well-being  of  the  nation,  and  in  particular 
upon  the  wealth  and  happiness  of  communities  through 
the  modification  of  local  climate ;  and  that  we  urge  all 
state  legislatures  to  provide  laws  and  financial  aid  to 
consolidate  the  rural  schools  in  units  sufBciently  large 
that  forestry,  agriculture,  and  home  economics  may  be 
successfully  taught  by  precept,  example,  and  practical 
work. 

**Passed  by  Congress  and  signed  by  President  Roosevelt 
February  i,  1905. 


450  Proceedings  of  the 

Resolved,  That  this  Congress  recommends  the  in- 
crease of  opportunities  for  general  forest  education 
in  schools  and  colleges,  and  for  professional  training 
in  post-graduate  schools;  and  approves  the  movement 
to  extend  and  systematize  industrial  education  in  the 
interest  of  a  more  general  distribution  of  the  popula- 
tion on  the  land. 

Resolved,  That  the  Congress  of  the  United  States 
be  asked  to  appropriate  adequate  sums  for  the  promo- 
tion of  forest  education  and  forest  experiment  work  in 
the  agricultural  colleges  and  experiment  stations  of 
the  United  States;  Provided,  however,  such  appropri- 
ations be  made  directly  to  state  forestry  departments, 
bureaus,  or  commissions,  v^^here  existing,  to  be  used 
in  their  respective  states  as  may  seem  best  for  forestry 
educational  purposes. 

Resolved,  That  this  Congress  approves  and  reaf- 
firms the  resolutions  of  various  scientific  and  commer- 
cial bodies  during  the  past  few  years  in  favor  of  the  es- 
tablishment of  national  forest  reserves  in  the  South- 
ern Appalachian  Mountains  and  in  the  White  Moun- 
tains of  New  Hampshire,  and  that  we  earnestly  urge 
the  immediate  passage  of  bills  for  these  purposes  which 
are  now  pending  in  both  houses  of  Congress. 

Resolved,  That  we  protest  against  the  attempt  to  re- 
duce the  area  of  the  Minnesota  National  Forest  Re- 
serve and  against  any  step  which  would  enhance  the 
difficulty  of  the  perpetuation  of  the  forests  upon  it. 

Resolved,  That  we  heartily  endorse  the  movement 
for  the  purchase  of  the  Calaveras  Grove  of  Big  Trees 
by  the  National  Government  and  earnestly  recom- 
mend the  prompt  enactment  of  legislation  to  that  end ; 
and,  further,  we  recommend  the  reconveying  by  the 
State  of  California  to  the  National  Government  of  the 
Yosemite  Park  in  order  that  this  may  be  adequately 


American  Forest  Congress  451 

protected  and  placed  upon  the  same  basis  as  other 
national  parks. 

Resolved,  That  this  Congress  urges  tree-planting  and 
the  preservation  of  shade  trees  along  public  highways 
throughout  America. 

Resolved,  That  we  approve  the  suggestion  that  a 
tree  be  planted  at  Mount  V^ernon  to  commemorate 
the  American  Forest  Congress,  and  that  funds  for  this 
purpose  be  collected  through  Forestry  and  Irrigation. 

Resolved,  That  as  Oklahoma  would  immeasurably 
profit  by  increased  land  valuation  resulting  from  great- 
er crop  capacity  as  the  outgrowth  of  wind  reduction ; 
therefore,  the  territory  should  be  empowered  to  ofifer 
school  land  occupants  a  reasonable  realty  tax  reduction 
during  a  stipulated  growing  period  of  tree  wind- 
breaks; Provided,  that  the  department  of  government 
under  which  the  nation's  forestry  interests  are  managed 
shall  outline,  control,  and  perfect,  in  all  particulars,  de- 
termining how  and  to  which  lands  the  provisions  shall 
apply,  except  that  purchasers  at  the  time  of  sale  have 
option  as  to  acceptance  of  these  terms. 

Resolved,  That  it  is  the  sense  of  this  Congress  that 
the  National  Homestead  Law  should  be  amended  so 
as  to  require  the  planting  of  at  least  5  per  cent  of  the 
area  of  a  homestead  before  final  title  be  acquired,  and 
that  the  tree  planting  be  under  the  supervision  of  the 
Bureau  of  Forestry. 


LIST  OF  DELEGATES 

Adams,  J.  B.,  Washington,  D.  C. ;  representing  Bureau 

of  Forestry. 
Adams,  Miss  B.  E.,  Washington,  D.  C. ;  General  Land 

Office. 
Agar,  John  G.,  New  York  City ;  Society  for  Protection 

of  the  Adirondacks. 
Agnew,    Mrs.    Kate    L.,    Valparaiso,    Ind. ;    State    of 

Indiana. 
Ahern,   Capt.   Geo.   P.,   Manila;   Forestry   Bureau  of 

Philippines. 
Aitken,    Geo.,    Woodstock,    Vt. ;    Vermont    Forestry 

Association. 
Akerman,    A.    K.,    State    Forester,    Boston,    Mass. ; 

Massachusetts  Forestry  Association. 
Allen,  E.  T.,  Forest  Inspector,  Bureau  of  Forestry, 

Washington,  D.  C. 
Allen,  E.  W.,  Office  of  Ex.  Stations,  Department  of 

Agriculture,  Washington,  D.  C. 
Anderson,  A.   A.,   New   York   City;   Forest   Reserve 

Service  and  New  York  Chamber  of  Commerce. 
Anderson,  J.  W.,  General  Land  Office,  Washington, 

D.  C. 
Andrews,     Byron,     Washington,     D.     C. ;    American 

Forestry  Association  from  South  Dakota. 
Atkinson,  A.  L.  C,  Honolulu,  Hawaii. 
Ayres,  Philip  W.,  Forester,  Society  for  Protection  of 

New  Hampshire  Forests,  Concord,  N.  H. 
Baily,  Joshua  L.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. ;  American  Forestry 

Association  from  Pennsylvania. 
Baird,   Dan   W.,   Nashville,   Tenn. ;   Editor  Southern 

Lumberman. 


American  Forest  Congress  453 

Baker,  J.  F.,  Bureau  of  Forestry,  Washington,  D.  C. ; 
Saline  Valley  Telephone  Company. 

Ball,  C.  R.,  Washington,  D.  C. ;  Iowa  Park  and 
Forestry  Association. 

Barber,  J.  T.,  Eau  Claire,  Wis. ;  Mississippi  Valley 
Lumberman's  Association  and  Northwestern  Hem- 
lock Manufacturers'  Association. 

Barnard,  E.  C,  U.  S.  Geological  Survey,  Washington, 
D.  C. 

Barns,  W.  E.,  St.  Louis,  Mo. ;  Editor  St.  Louis 
Lumberman. 

Bartlett,  J.  H.,  Middleboro,  Ky. ;  State  of  Kentucky. 

Becker,  G.  F.,  U.  S.  Geological  Survey,  Washington, 
D.  C. 

Beecher,  F.  R.,  Retail  Lumber  Dealers'  Association, 
Canadaigua,  N.  Y. 

Bell,  Dr.  Robt.,  Agricultural  Department,  Ottawa, 
Ontario,  Canada;  Canadian  Forestry  Association. 

Bentz,  Hon.  P.  J.,  Woonsocket,  S.  D. ;  State  of  South 
Dakota. 

Berg,  Walter  G.,  Philadelphia,  Pa.;  Lehigh  Valley 
Railroad  system. 

Berthrong,  L  P.,  Washington,  D.  C. ;  General  Land 
Office. 

Bidwell,  Geo.  F.  Chicago,  111. ;  Chicago  and  North- 
western Railway  Company. 

Bein,  Morris,  U.  S.  Geological  Survev,  Washington, 
D.  C. 

Binford,  L.  M.,  Saco,  Maine;  National  Association  of 
Box  and  Box  Shook  Manufacturers  of  the  United 
States. 

Bitler,  F.  L.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. ;  Pennsylvania  Forestry 
Association. 

Blades,  J.  B.,  Elizabeth  City,  N.  C. ;  National  Whole- 
sale Lumber  Dealers'  Association  and  North  Caro- 
lina Forestry  Association. 


454  Proceedings  of  the 

Blanchard,  C.  J.,  U.  S.  Geological  Survey,  Washing- 
ton, D.  C. 

Bliss,  Geo.  H'..  Spokane,  Wash. ;  Reclamation  Service. 

Blodgett,  James  H.,  Washington,  D.  C. ;  American 
Forestry  Association. 

Bogue,  Prof.  E.  E.,  Michigan  Agricultural  College, 
Agricultural  College  P.  O.,  Michigan. 

Bond,  Frank,  General  Land  Office,  Washington,  D.  C. 

Borst,  Theo.  F.,  Clinton,  Mass. ;  American  Forestry 
Association  from  Massachusetts. 

Brooks,  Hon.  F.  E.,  Colorado  Springs,  Colo.;  State 
of  Colorado. 

Bowers,  Edward  A.,  New  Haven,  Conn. ;  Connecticut 
Forestry  Association  and  American  Forestry  As- 
sociation. 

Brooks,  A.  H.,  U.  S.  Geological  Survev,  Washington, 
D.  C. 

Bruce,  E.  S.,  Bureau  of  Forestry,  ¥/ashington,  D.  C. 

Bruce,  Grant,  Bureau  of  Forestry,  Washington,  D.  C. ; 
American  Forestry  Association. 

Bulllock,  Capt.  Seth,  Deadwood,  S.  D. ;  South  Dakota 
Forest  Reserve  Service. 

Bunker,  Wm.  M.,  Washington,  D.  C. ;  Chamber  of 
Commerce  of  San  Francisco. 

Burkholder,  S.,  Crawfordsville,  Ind. ;  National  Whole- 
sale Lumber  Dealers'  Association. 

Burton,  P.  G.,  Chesapeake  and  Potomac  Telephone 
Company,  Washington,  D.  C. 

Campbell,  R.  H.,  Secretary  Canadian  Forestry  Asso- 
ciation, Ottawa,  Ontario,  Canada. 

Candland,  W.  D.,  Mt.  Pleasant,  Utah;  Utah  Wool 
Growers'  Association. 

Gary,  Austin,  Brunswick,  Me. ;  American  Forestry 
Association  from  Maine. 

Chapman,  C.  S.,  Bureau  of  Forestry.  Washington, 
D.  C. 


American  Forest  Congress  455 

Chapman,  Herman  H.,  Bureau  of  Forestry,  Washing- 
ton, D.  C. ;  American  Forestry  Association. 

Charlton,  R.  H.,  Denver,  Colo.;  Forest  Reserve  Ser- 
vice. 

Chittenden,  A.  K.,  Bureau  of  Forestry,  Washington, 
D.  C. 

Chown,  C.  Y.,  Queen's  University,  Kingston,  Ontario, 
Canada. 

Churchill,  C.  S.,  Roanoke,  Va. ;  Norfolk  and  Western 
Railway. 

Clark,  C.  C,  Washington,  D.  C. ;  Department  of  Agri- 
culture. 

Clark,  Hon.  Clarence  D.,  U.  S.  Senate,  Washington, 
D.  C;  State  of  Wyoming. 

Clark,  Dr.  J.  F.,  Department  of  the  Interior,  Ontario, 
Canada;  Ontario  Bureau  of  Forestry. 

Clark,  Dr.  Wm.  B.,  State  Geologist,  Baltimore,  Md. ; 
State  Geological  and  Economic  Society. 

Clarke,  S.  A.,  General  Land  Office,  Washington,  D. 
C. ;  State  of  Oregon. 

Clement,  G.  E.,  Bureau  of  Forestry,  Washington,  D. 
C. ;  American  Forestry  Association. 

Cleveland,  J.  F.,  Chicago,  111.;  Chicago  and  North- 
western Railway. 

Clothier,  Geo.  L.,  Bureau  of  Forestrv,  Washington, 
D.  C. 

Cochran,  Geo.  G.,  New  York  City;  Erie  Railroad 
Company. 

Cone,  Albert  B.,  Chicago,  111. ;  American  Lumherman. 

Conklin,  Robt.  S.,  Harrisburg,  Pa. ;  Pennsylvania  For- 
estry Association  and  Forestry  Commission. 

Cooke,  Chas.  B.,  Richmond,  Va. ;  State  of  Virginia. 

Cooper,  Thomas,  St.  Paul,  Minn.;  Northern  Pacific 
Railway  Company. 

Cosgrifife,  T.  A.,  Cheyenne,  Wyo. ;  Northern  Pacific 
Railroad. 


45^  Proceedings  of  the 

Coville,  F.  v.,  Washington,  D.  C. ;  American  Forestry 
Association. 

Cox,  Wm.  T.,  St.  Anthony  Park,  Minn.;  Minnesota 
State  Forestry  Association. 

Craft,  Q.  R.,  Washington,  D.  C. ;  American  Forestry 
Association  from  Kansas. 

Craig,  A.  R.,  Mesa,  Colo. ;  Forest  Reserve  Service. 

Crawford,  C.  G.,  Washington,  D.  C. ;  American  For- 
estry Association. 

Crenshaw,  R.  C,  Frankfort,  Ky. ;  State  of  Kentucky. 

Curtin,  Gen.  G.  W.,  Sutton,  W.  Va. ;  State  of  West 
Virginia. 

Craig,  D.  A.,  Washington,  D.  C. ;  Washington  Bvening 
Star. 

Crenshaw,  A.  P.,  Chesapeake  and  Potomac  Telephone 
Company,  Washington,  D.  C. 

Croft,  A.  J.,  Enosburg,  Vt. ;  Vermont  Maple  Sugar 
Makers'  Association. 

Cutler,  J.  H.,  Raleigh,  N.  C. ;  State  of  North  Carolina. 

Davant,  T.  S.,  Roanoke,  Va. ;  Norfolk  and  Western 
Railway  Company. 

Davis,  L.  G.,  Saratoga,  Wyo. ;  Wyoming  Forest  Re- 
serve Sti-vice. 

Daw,  N.  L.,  Roanoke,  Va. ;  Norfolk  and  Western 
Railway  Company. 

Daish,  John  B.,  Washington,  D.  C. ;  National  Hay 
Association. 

Davis,  A.  P.,  U.  S.  Geological  Survey,  Washington, 
D.  C. 

Deale,  J.  T.,  Chairman  North  Carolina  Pine  Associa- 
tion, Norfolk,  Va. 

Deering,  Hon.  Frank  C.  Bedford,  Me. ;  State  of  Maine. 

Defebaugh,  J.  E.,  Chicago,  111. ;  Editor  American 
Lumberman. 

Dezendorf,  Mr.,  General  Land  Office,  Washington, 
D.  C. 


American  Forest  Congress  457 

Dickinson,  L.  F.,  Greenfield,  Mass. ;  National  Associa- 
tion of  Box  and  Box  Shook  Manufacturers  of  the 
United  States. 
Dill,  Lewis,  Baltimore,  Md. ;  National  Wholesale  Lum- 
ber Dealers'  Association. 
Dixon,   Hon.   J.   M.,   Washington,   D.    C. ;   Montana 

Stock  Growers'  Association. 
Dock,  Miss  Mira  L.,  State  Forestry  Commission,  Har- 

risburg,  Pa. 
Donnelly,  J.  W.,  General  Land  Office,  Washington, 

D.  C. 
DuBois,    C.    L.,    General   Land   Office,   Washington, 

D.  C. 
Durgin,  Jno.  C,  Sandy  Hill,  N.  Y. ;  Forest,  Water 

Storage  and  Manufacturing  Association. 
Drummond,  A.  T.,  Toronto,  Canada;  American  For- 
estry Association. 
Eaton,  Hon.  Geo.  H.,  Calais,  Me. ;  State  of  Maine. 
Eberlein,  Chas.  W.,  Southern  Pacific  Railway. 
Eddy,  J.  R.,  Washington,  D.  C. ;  National  Geological 

Park. 
Edmands,  J.  Rayner,  Boston,   Mass.;   Massachusetts 

Forestry  Association. 
Elliott,  Howard  T.,  St.  Paul,  Minn. ;  President  North- 
ern Pacific  Railway  Company. 
Elliott,  S.  B.,  State  Forestry  Commission,  Harrisburg, 

Pa. 
Emerson,  Col.  Geo.  H.,  Hoquiam,  Wash. ;  Pacific  Coast 

Lumbermen. 
England,  Charles,  Washington,  D.  C. ;  National  Hay 

Association. 
Faull,  J.  H'.,  University  of  Toronto,  Canada. 
Fellows,  A.  L.,  U.  S.  Geological  Survey,  Washington, 

D.  C. 
Fenn,  Maj.  F.  A.,  KaHspell,  Mont.;  Montana  Forest 

Reserve  Service. 


458  Proceedings  oi^  the 

Fernow,  Dr.  Bernhard  E.,  Ithaca,  N.  Y. ;  American 
Forestry  Association  from  New  York  and  Society 
for  Protection  of  the  Adirondacks. 

Fimple,  J.  H.,  General  Land  Office,  Washington,  D.  C. 

Fischer,  Fred  C,  Try  on,  N.  C. ;  National  Lumber 
Manufacturers'  Association. 

Fisher,  Prof.  Richard  T.,  Harvard  University,  Cam- 
bridge, Mass. 

Fisher,  Wm.  H.,  Cincinnati,  Ohio;  State  of  Ohio. 

Fitch,  C.  H.,  U.  S.  Geological  Survey,  Washington, 
D.  C. 

Fletcher,  Dr.  Jas.,  Ottawa,  Ontario,  Canada ;  Canadian 
Forestry  Association. 

Foley,  John,  Bureau  of  Forestry,  Washington,  D.  C. 

Foster,  H.  D.,  Washington,  D.  C. ;  American  Forestry 
Association. 

Foster,  N.  C,  Wisconsin  Hardwood  Lumbermen's  As- 
sociation,  Fairchild,  Wis. 

Fowler,  Hon.  B.  A.,  Phoenix,  Ariz. ;  Territory  of 
Arizona. 

Fox,  Col.  Wm.  F.,  Superintendent  of  State  Forests, 
Albany,  N.  Y. ;  Association  for  Protection  of  Adi- 
rondacks. 

Franklin,  Blake,  General  Land  Office,  Washington, 
D.  C. 

Freeman,  Miss  Harriet  E.,  Boston,  Mass.,  American 
Forestry  Association  from  Massachusetts  and  Mass- 
achusetts Forestry  Association. 

Freeman,  Hon.  Wm.  F.,  State  Forester,  Indianapolis, 
Ind. ;  Indiana  State  Board  of  Forestry. 

Fulton,  John,  State  Forestry  Commission,  Harrisburg, 
Pa. 

Gannett,  Dr.  Henry,  U.  S.  Geological  Survey,  Wash- 
ington, D.  C. ;  Sierra  Club. 

Gannett,  Miss  Mary  C,  Bureau  of  Forestry,  Wash- 
ington, D.  C. ;  American  Forestry  Association. 


Ame:rican  Forest  Congress  459 

Gardner,  W.  A.,  Chicago,  111. ;  Chicago  &  Northwest- 
ern Railway. 

Gardner,  Wesley  J.,  Bureau  of  Forestry,  Washington, 
D.  C. 

Garrett,  Robt.,  Baltimore,  Md. ;  Delegate-at-large  from 
Maryland. 

Garver,  L.  J.,  General  Land  Office,  Washington,  D.  C. 

Gaskili,  Alfred,  Bureau  of  Forestry,  Washington,  D.  C. 

Gennett,  Andrew,  South  Carolina ;  State  of  South  Car- 
olina. 

Gibson,  Edgar,  Clyde  Park,  Mont. ;  State  of  Montana. 

Gilbert,  Dr.  G.  K.,  Sierra  Club,  San  Francisco,  Cal. 

Gilfry,  H.  H.,  V/ashington,  D.  C. ;  State  of  Oregon. 

Gillenwaters,  E.  P.,  Glascow,  Ky. ;  State  of  Kentucky. 

Girtanner,  Jules,  Linden,  N.  J. ;  American  Forestry 
Association. 

Goddard,  Hon.  Albert  J.,  Tacoma,  Wash. ;  Tacoma 
Chamber  of  Commerce. 

Gosney,  E.  S.,  President  Arizona  Wool  Growers'  As- 
sociation, Flagstaff,  Ariz. 

Green,  Dr.  Samuel  B.,  St.  Anthony  Park,  Minn. ;  State 
of  Minnesota  and  Minnesota  State  Forestry  Asso- 
ciation. 

Green,  Prof.  W.  J.,  Agricultural  Experiment  Station, 
Wooster,  Ohio ;  State  of  Ohio. 

Grier,  T.  J.,  Superintendent  Homestake  Mining  Com- 
pany, Lead,  S.  D. 

Griffith,  E.  M.,  Madison,  Wis. ;  State  Forest  Service. 

Grimes,  E.  P.,  Maine ;  State  of  Maine. 

Grinnell,  Henrv,  Bureau  of  Forestry,  Washington,  D. 
C. 

Griswold,  W.  T.,  U.  S.  Geological  Survey,  Washing- 
ton, D.  C. 

Grosvenor,  Gilbert  H.,  Washington,  D.  C. ;  American 
Forestry  Association. 


460  Proceedings  ojp  the 

Grunsky,  C.  E.,  Washington,  D.  C. ;  State  of  Cali- 
fornia. 

Gwinn,  J.  H.,  Pendleton,  Ore.;  Oregon  Wool  Grow- 
ers' Association. 

Haas,  L.  G.,  Baltimore,  Md. ;  Baltimore  and  Ohio 
Railroad. 

Hagenbarth,  F.  J.,  National  Live  Stock  Association 
Denver,  Colo. 

Haines,  A.  S.,  Westtown,  Pa. ;  Pennsylvania  Forestry 
Association. 

Hale,  Dr.  Edward  Everett,  Washington,  D.  C. ;  State 
of  Massachusetts,  Massachusetts  Forestry  Associa- 
tion, Appalachian  Mountain  Club. 

Hall,  Edward  Hagaman,  New  York  city;  Association 
for  Protection  of  the  Adirondacks. 

Hall,  Geo.  F.,  Chicago,  111. ;  Chicago-Texas  L.  and 
L.  Co. 

Hall,  James  B.,  Clay  City,  Ky. ;  Beer  Stock  Manufac- 
turers' Association. 

Hall,  Wm.  L.,  Bureau  of  Forestry,  Washington,  D.  C. ; 
Hawaii  Forestry  Service. 

Hansen,  Prof.  N.  E.,  Agricultural  College,  Brookings, 
S.  D. ;  State  of  South  Dakota. 

Happv,  H.  W.,  General  Land  Office,  Washington,  D. 

C.  ' 

Harrison,  W.  F.,  Norfolk,  Va. ;  North  Carolina  Pine 

Association. 
Harvey,    Wm.    S.,    Phildelphia,    Pa. ;    Pennsylvania 

Forestry  Association. 
Hawes,  Austin  F.,  State  Forester,  New  Haven,  Conn. 
Hawley,  R.  C,  Amherst,  Mass. ;  American  Forestry 

Association  from  Massachusetts. 
Hayes,  C.  W.,  U.  S.  Geological  Survey,  Washington, 

D.  C. 

Hayes,  R.  P.,  Asheville,  N.  C. ;  State  of  North  Caro- 
lina. 


American  Forest  Congress  461 

Henry,  Alfred  J.,  Washington,  D.  C. ;  American  For- 
estry Association. 

Henry,  H.  D.,  Athens,  Ohio;  Union  Association  of 
Lumber  Dealers. 

Herndon,  T.  H.,  General  Land  Office,  Washington, 
D.  C. 

Hightower,  Clement,  Capitan,  N.  M.;  Territory  of 
New  Mexico. 

Higgins,  S.  M.,  Forester,  Cleveland-Cliffs  Iron  Com- 
pany, Negaunee,  Mich. 

Hinshaw,  G.  W.,  President  Stone  Mountain  Railway 
Company,  Winston,  N.  C. 

Hobbs,  Jno,  E.,  North  Brunswick,  Me.;  American 
Forestry  Association. 

Hodge,  Wm.  C,  Jr.,  Bureau  of  Forestry,  Washington, 
D.  C. 

Hodson,  E.  R.,  Washington,  D.  C. ;  Iowa  Park  and 
Forestry  Association. 

Holcombe,  E.  P.,  General  Land  Office,  Washington, 
D.  C. 

Holdredge,  G.  W.,  Chicago,  111.;  Chicago,  Burlington 
and  Quincy  Railway  Company. 

Holmes,  J. ;  State  of  Connecticut. 

Holt,  W.  A.,  Oconto,  Wis. ;  Northwestern  Hemlock 
Manufacturers'  Association. 

Holter,  Norman,  Helena,  Mont. ;  State  of  Montana. 

Hoover,  T.  L.,  Carlisle,  Pa. ;  Pennsylvania  Forestry 
Association. 

Hopkins,  Dr.  A.  D.,  Washington,  D.  C, ;  American 
Forestry  Association. 

Hotchkiss,  Geo.  W.,  Chicago,  111. ;  Lumber  Secretaries' 
Bureau  of  Information. 

Hoyt,  Colgate,  New  York  city;  Missouri,  Kansas  and 
Texas  Railway  system. 

Hutcheson,  David,  Congressional  Library,  Washing- 
ton, D.  C. 


462  Proceedings  of  the 

Hutchinson,  James,  Randolph,  Vt. ;  Delegate-at-large. 

Imes,  R.  P.,  Washington,  D.  C,  American  Forestry 
Association. 

Irvin,  Hon.  Edw.  A.,  Curwensville,  Pa. ;  State  of  Penn- 
sylvania. 

Irvine,  Wm.,  Chippewa  Falls,  Wis. ;  Mississippi  Val- 
ley Lumber  Association. 

Ivy,  Thos.  P.,  Conway,  N.  H. ;  State  of  New  Hamp- 
shire. 

Jackson,  Luis,  New  York  city;  Erie  Railroad  Com- 
pany. 

Jastro,  H.  A.,  Bakersfield,  Cal. ;  Kern  County  Cattle 
Growers'  Association. 

Jenks,  Robt.,  Cleveland,  Ohio ;  Lumbering. 

Jensen,  A.  W.,  Ephraim,  Utah ;  Forest  Reserve  Service. 

Johnson,  L.  E.,  Roanoke,  Va.,  President  Norfolk  and 
Western  Railway  Company. 

Jones,  Hunt,  Louisville,  Ky. ;  State  of  Kentucky. 

Jones,  H.  H'.,  Washington,  D.  C. ;  General  Land  Office. 

Jones,  William,  Tacoma,  Wash. ;  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce. 

Justus,  T.  W.,  Baltimore,  Md. ;  Baltimore  and  Ohio 
Railroad. 

Kalanianaole,  Hon.  Jonah  K.,  Honolulu,  Hawaii; 
Territory  of  Hawaii. 

Kaul,  Jno.  L.,  Birmingham,  Ala. ;  Southern  Lumber 
Manufacturers'  Association. 

Keen,  Miss  Florence,  Philadelphia,  Pa. ;  American 
Forestry  Association. 

Keller,  O.  B.,  New  York  city ;  American  Forestry  As- 
sociation from  New  York. 

Kellogg,  J.  C,  Louisiana;  State  of  Louisiana. 

Kellogg,  R.  S.,  Fay,  Kan. ;  State  of  Kansas. 

Kelsey,  Frederick  W.,  Orange,  N.  J. ;  American  For- 
estry Association. 


American  Fore:st  Congress  463 

Killen,  Wm.  H.,  Milwaukee,  Wis. ;  Wisconsin  Cen- 
tral Railway  Company. 

Kinney,  David  G.,  Washington,  D.  C. ;  Bureau  of  For- 
estry. 

Kittredge,  G.  W.,  Cincinnati,  Ohio;  Cleveland,  Cin- 
cinnati, Chicago  and  St.  Louis  Railway  Company. 

Kneeper,  David,  Harrisburg,  Pa. ;  Pennsylvania  State 
Forestry  Service. 

Koch,  Elers,  Washington,  D.  C. ;  American  Forestry 
Association. 

Lamb,  Hon  John,  Richmond,  Va. ;  State  of  Virginia. 

Langille,  H.  D.,  Santa  Barbara,  Cal. ;  Forest  Re- 
serve Service. 

Langworthy,  C.  F.,  Washington,  D.  C. ;  American 
Forestry  Association. 

Lazenby,  Wm.  R.,  Columbus,  Ohio;  Ohio  State  For- 
estry Society. 

Leland,  J.  D.,  Washington,  D.  C. ;  General  Land  Office. 

Lewis,  W.  H.,  Washington,  D.  C. ;  General  Land  Of- 
fice. 

Lippincott,  J.  B.,  Washington,  D.  C. ;  U.  S.  Geologi- 
cal Survey. 

Little,  Wm.  T.,  Perry,  Okla. ;  American  Forestry  As- 
sociation from  Oklahoma. 

Loring,  Hon.  C.  M.,  Minneapolis,  Minn. ;  Minnesota 
Forestry  Association. 

Luebkert,  Otto,  Washington,  D.  C. ;  American  For- 
estry Association. 

McAUaster,  Birdsall,  Omaha,  Neb. ;  Union  Pacific 
Railway  Company. 

MacNaughton,  James,  New  York  city ;  American  So- 
ciety of  Civic  Engineers,  New  York  Board  of  Trade 
and  Transportation,  and  Association  for  Protection 
of  the  Adirondacks. 

]McBee,  Silas,  New  York  city ;  Delegate-at-large. 


464  Proceedings  of  the 

McCann,  John  A.,  Philadelphia,  Pa.;  Editor  National 

Coopers'  Journal. 
McClure,  R,  C,  Silver  City,  N.  M. ;  Forest  Reserve 

Service. 
McCoy,  Wilbur,  New  York  city;  Atlantic  Coast  Line 

Railroad  Company. 
McKeithan,  D.  T.,  South  Carolina;  State  of  South 

Carolina. 
McKinney,  J.  M.,  Washington,  D.  C. ;  General  Land 

Office. 
McLeod,  N.  W.,  St.  Louis,  Mo.;  Southern  Lumber 

Manufacturers'  Association. 
Macbride,  Thos.  H^,  Iowa  City,  Iowa. ;  State  of  Iowa. 
McNeeley,  E.  J.,  Tacoma,  Wash.;  State  of  Washing- 
ton. 
McPhaul,  John,  Washington,  D.   C. ;  General   Land 

Office. 
McVean,  M.  J.,  Washington,  D.   C. ;  General  Land 

Office. 
Macey,  J.  T.,  Washington,  D.  C. ;  General  Land  Office. 
Maffet,  Miss  Martha  A.,  Wilkesbarre,  Pa. ;  American 

Forestry  Association. 
Maher,  N.  D.,  Roanoke,  Va. ;  Norfolk  and  Western 

Railway. 
Manderson,    Gen.  Chas.  F.,  Chicago,  111. ;    Chicago, 

Burlington  and  Quincy  Railway  Company. 
Macoun,   Prof.  J.   M.,   Canadian   Geological   Survey, 

Ottawa,  Ontario,  Canada. 
Manning,  W.  H.,  Boston,  Mass. ;  American  Forestry 

Association. 
Marr,  S.  S.,  General  Land  Office,  Washington,  D.  C. 
Marston,  Roy  L.,  Yale  Forest  School,  New  Haven, 

Conn. 
Mason,  S.  C,  Berea,  Ky. ;  State  of  Kentucky. 
Mast,  Wm.  H.,  Halsey,  Neb. ;  State  of  Nebraska. 


American  Forest  Congress  465 

Mather,  William  G.,  Cleveland,  Ohio;  Cleveland 
Chamber  of  Commerce. 

Mathewson,  Dr.  Arthur,  Woodstock,  Conn. ;  Connecti- 
cut Forestry  Association. 

Mattoon,  W.  R.,  Washington,  D.  C. ;  American  For- 
estry Association. 

Maxwell,  Geo.  H.,  Chicago,  111. ;  National  Irrigation 
Association  and  State  of  California. 

Mead,  Elwood,  Washington,  D.  C. ;  Department  of 
Agriculture. 

Meekham,  H.  S.,  Washington,  D.  C. ;  American  For- 
estry Association. 

Merriam,  Dr.  C.  Hart,  Geological  Survey,  Washington, 
D.  C. ;  Sierra  Club  and  American  Forestry  Associa- 
tion. 

Merrill,  H.  G.,  American  Forestry  Association. 

Merry,  Capt.  J.  F.,  Dubuque,  Iowa;  Illinois  Central 
Railroad  Company. 

Methudy,  L.,  St.  Louis,  Mo. ;  National  Lumber  Ex- 
porters' Association. 

Miller,  Prof.  Frank  G.,  Lincoln,  Neb. ;  University  of 
Nebraska. 

Miller,  L.  C,  Washington,  D.  C. ;  Bureau  of  Forestry. 

Miller,  W.  H.,  Madison,  Ind. ;  Retail  Lumber  Dealers' 
Association. 

Mitchell,  Guy  E.,  Washington,  D.  C. ;  American  For- 
estry Association. 

Moore,  M.  C,  Milwaukee,  Wis. ;  Editor  Packages. 

Mosle,  M.  A. ;  Delegate-at-large. 

Mulford,  Walter,  New  Haven,  Conn. ;  State  of  Con- 
necticut. 

Murphy,  J.  T.,  Washington,  D.  C. ;  General  Land  Of- 
fice. 

Nelson,  John  M.,  Jr.,  Rider,  Md. ;  State  of  Maryland. 

Newhall,  D.  S.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. ;  Pennsylvania  Rail- 
way Company. 


466  Proceedings  oe  the 

Newell,  F.  H.,  U.  S.  Geological  Survey,  Washington, 
D.  C. 

Norris,   Jos.    L.,    Leesburg,    Va. ;    State   of   Virginia 

Oak,  Hon.  Chas.  E.,  Bangor,  Me. ;  State  of  Maine. 

Olmsted,  F.  E.,  Washington,  D.  C. ;  Bureau  of  For- 
estry. 

Pack,  Charles  L.,  Lakew  cod,  N.  J. ;  Cleveland  Cham- 
ber of  Commerce. 

Palmer,  T.  S.,  Washington,  D.  C. ;  American  Forestry 
Association. 

Pommel,  Prof.  L.  Hj.,  Secretary  Iowa  Park  and  For- 
estry Association,  Ames,  Iowa. 

Parsons,  Mrs.  Henry,  New  York  city ;  American  For- 
estry Association. 

Peavy,  Geo.  W.,  Washington,  D.  C. ;  American  For- 
estry Association. 

Penrose,  Dr.  Chas.  B.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. ;  State  of 
Pennsylvania. 

Perry,  E.  F.,  New  York  city;  National  Wholesale 
Lumber  Dealers'  Association. 

Peters,  J.  Girvin,  Washington,  D.  C. ;  American  For- 
estry Association. 

Peyton,  Miss  J.  S.,  General  Land  Office,  Washington, 
D.  C. 

Philbrick,  S.  W.,  Skowhegan,  Me. ;  State  of  Maine. 

Pinchot,  Gifford,  Bureau  of  Forestry,  Washington,  D. 
C. ;  Bureau  of  Forestry,  American  Forestry  Asso- 
ciation, Sierra  Club,  Society  American  Foresters, 
Society  American  Civil  Engineers. 

Pinchot,  James  W.,  New  York  city ;  New  York  Cham- 
ber of  Commerce. 

Pollock,  G.  F.,  General  Land  Office,  Washington,  D.  C. 

Pope,  J.  W.,  Atlanta,  Ga. ;  State  of  Georgia. 

Potter,  A.  F.,  Bureau  of  Forestry,  Washington,  D.  C. 

Potter,  H.  G.,  General  Land  Office,  Washington,  D.  C. 


American  Forest  Congress  467 

Price,  Overton  W.,  Bureau  of  Forestry,  Washington, 
D.  C. 

Purington,  Pres.  D.  B.,  State  University,  Morgan- 
town,  W.  Va. ;  State  of  West  Virginia. 

Putnam,  H.  C,  Eau  Claire,  Wis. ;  Lumbering. 

Rane,  Prof.  F.  Wm.,  Durham,  N.  H. ;  New  Hamp- 
shire College,  Boston  and  Maine  Railroad,  State  of 
New  Hampshire. 

Reed,  Franklin  W.,  Washington,  D.  C. ;  Society  Amer- 
ican Foresters. 

Richards,  J.  T.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. ;  Pennsylvania  Rail- 
way Company. 

Rinewalt,  John  M.,  Mt.  Carroll,  111.;  Delegate-at- 
large  from  Illinios. 

Ring,  Hon.  Edgar  E.,  Forest  Commissioner,  Augusta, 
Me. 

Ross,  D.  M.,  Boise,  Idaho ;  U.  S.  Geological  Survey. 

Ross,  Norman  M.,  Ottawa,  Canada;  Dominion  For- 
est Service. 

Roth,  Prof.  Filibert,  Ann  Arbor,  Mich. ;  State  of  Michi- 
gan, University  of  Michigan. 

Rothrock,  J.  T.,  Secretary  State  Forestry  Reservation 
Commission,  Harrisburg,  Pa. 

Russell,  I.  C,  Washington,  D.  C. ;  National  Geographic 
Society. 

Russell,  Jas.  S.,  Boston,  Mass.;  Massachusetts  For- 
estry Association. 

Russell,  F.  B.,  Beer  Stock  Manufacturers'  Association, 
Louisville,  Ky. 

Satterlee,  J.  B.,  General  Land  Office,  Washington, 
D.  C. 

Savage,  H.  N.,  U.  S.  Geological  Survey,  Washington, 
D.  C. 

Scaife,  Marvin  F.,  Pittsburg,  Pa. ;  Pennsylvania  State 
Forestry  Association. 


468  Proceedings  oe  the 

Schaperkotter,  Jas.  F.,  Philadelphia,  Pa. ;  Lehigh  Val- 
ley Railroad  system. 

Schenck,  Dr.  C.  A.,  Biltmore,  N.  C. ;  Biltmore  For- 
estry School. 

Schwarz,  G.  Fred,  New  York  city;  American  Fores- 
try Association  from  New  York  city. 

Scott,  Chas.  A.,  Halsey,  Neb. ;  State  of  Nebraska. 

Sebastian,  Jon.,  Chicago,  111. ;  Rock  Island  Railway 
system. 

See,  Mrs.  Horace,  New  York  city ;  American  Forestry 
Association. 

Seeley,  J.  B.,  Virginia  City,  Mont. ;  Forest  Reserve 
Service. 

Shaw,  A.  C,  General  Land  Office,  Washington,  D.  C. 

Shaw,  Eugene,  Wisconsin  Hardwood  Lumbermen's 
Association,  Eau  Claire,  Wis. ;  Mississippi  Valley 
Lumber  Association. 

Shellcr,  D.  B.,  Tacoma,  Wash. ;  Washington  Forest 
Reserve  Service. 

Sherfesse,  W.  F.,  Charleston,  S.  C. ;  State  of  South 
Carolina. 

Shepardson,  H.  L.,  Baldwinville,  Mass.;  National  As- 
sociation of  Box  and  Box  Shook  Manufacturers  of 
United  States. 

Sherman,  W.  F.,  General  Land  Office,  Washington, 
D.  C. 

Sherrard,  Thos.  H.,  Bureau  of  Forestry,  Washington, 
D.  C. 

Shields,  G.  O.,  Editor  and  Manager  Recreation; 
League  of  American  Sportsmen,  Delegate-at-large. 

Shoemaker,  Samuel  M.,  Stevenson,  Md. ;  State  of 
Maryland. 

Silcox,  F.  E.,  Charleston,  S.  C. ;  State  of  South  Caro- 
lina. 

Silvester,  Pres.  R.  W.,  Maryland  Agricultural  College, 


American  Forest  Congress  469 

College  Park,  Md. ;  American  Forestry  Association 
from  Maryland. 

Smith,  G.  O.,  U.  S.  Geological  Survey,  Washington, 
D.  C. 

Smith,  H.  A.,  Bureau  of  Forestry,  Washington,  D.  C. 

Smith,  Geo.  K.,  Secretary  Southern  Lumber  Manu- 
facturers' Association,  St.  Louis,  Mo. ;  Southern 
Lumber  Manufacturers'  Association,  National  Lum- 
ber Manufacturers'  Association,  Western  Pine  Ship- 
pers' Association. 

Snyder,  J.  M.,  Bay  City,  Mich. ;  American  Forestry 
Association. 

Spring,  Preston  B.,  Easton,  Md. ;  State  of  Maryland. 

Spring,  Prof.  Samuel  N.,  Orono,  Me. ;  University  of 
Maine. 

Start,  Edwin  A.,  Boston,  Mass. ;  Massachusetts  For- 
estry Association. 

Steele,  Henry  M.,  Macon,  Ga. ;  Central  Georgia  Rail- 
way Company. 

Sterling,  E.  A.,  Bureau  of  Forestry,  Washington,  D.  C. 

Sheller,  R.  H.,  Tacoma,  Wash. ;  Forest  Reserve  Ser- 
vice. 

Stewart,  Elihu,  Forestry  Branch,  Department  of  In- 
terior, Ottawa,  Ontario ;  Canadian  Forestry  Asso- 
ciation. 

Stewart,  Frank,  Prescott,  Ariz. ;  Territory  of  Arizona. 

Strong,  C.  B.,  General  Land  Office,  Washington,  D.  C. 

Stout,  J.  H.,  Menomonee,  Wis. ;  State  of  Wisconsin. 

Strong,  Miss  L.  M.,  General  Land  Office,  Washington, 
D.  C. 

Sudworth,  Geo.  B.,  Bureau  of  Forestry,  Washington, 
D.  C. 

Suter,  H.  M.,  Washington,  D.  C. ;  Editor  Forestry 
and  Irrigation. 

Tennille,  A.  F.,  Washington,  D.  C. ;  The  American 
Lumberman. 

P 


470  Proceedings  oi?  the 

Thayer,  Hon.  Samuel  R.,  Minneapolis,  Minn. ;  Minne- 
sota State  Forestry  Association. 

Thomas,  E.  B.,  Los  Angeles,  Cal. ;  Forest  Reserve 
Service. 

Tompkins,  H.  J.,  Washington,  D.  C. ;  Bureau  of  Fores- 
try. 

Totten,  Mrs.  S.  G.,  Washington,  D.  C. ;  General  Land 
Office. 

Toumey,  Prof.  J.  W.,  New  Haven,  Conn. ;  Yale  Forest 
School. 

Tower,  G.  E.,  Washington,  D.  C. ;  American  Forestry 
Association. 

Tremaine,  Morris,  Buffalo,  N.  Y. ;  National  Whole- 
sale Lumber  Dealers'  Association. 

Underwood,  Geo.  F.,  New  York  city;  Water  Storage 
and  Manufacturing  Association. 

Von  Schrenk,  Dr.  Hermann,  Washington,  D.  C. ;  Bu- 
reau of  Forestry. 

Van  Aiken,  C.  M.,  New  York  city;  National  Slack 
Cooperage  Association. 

Vreeland,  Robert,  Frankfort,  Ky. ;  State  of  Kentucky. 

Wadsworth,  W.  A.,  Genesee,  N.  Y. ;  State  of  New 
York. 

Waite,  Mrs.  C.  V.,  Roggen,  Colo. ;  State  of  Colorado. 

Walcott,  Dr.  Chas.  D.,  Washington,  D.  C. ;  U.  S.  Geo- 
logical Survey. 

Walker,  F.  B.,  Washington,  D.  C. ;  General  Land  Of- 
fice. 

Walsh,  Thos.  F.,  Washington,  D.  C. ;  Denver  Chamber 
of  Commerce. 

Wantland,  C.  E.,  Denver,  Colo. ;  State  of  Colorado. 

Ware,  Miss  Mary  Lee,  Boston,  Mass. ;  Massachusetts 
Forestry  Association. 

Webster,  Jr.,  N.  E.,  Washington,  D.  C. ;  U.  S.  Recla- 
mation Service. 


American  Forest  Congress  47i 

Weed,  W.  H.,  Washington,  D.  C;  U.  S.  Geological 
Survey. 

Wells,  Geo.  T.,  Drifton,  Pa.;  American  Forestry  As- 
sociation from  Pennsylvania. 

Weyerhaeuser,  Jr.,  Fred  E.,  St.  Paul,  Minn. ;  Weyer- 
haeuser Lumber  Company  and  Mississippi  Valley 
Lumberman's  Association. 

Wheeler,  Mrs.  C.  H.,  Boston,  Mass. ;  American  Fores- 
try Association. 

White,  J.  B.,  Kansas  City,  Mo.;  Southern  Lumber 
Manufacturers'  Association. 

White,  J.  W.,  Portsmouth,  Va.;  Seaboard  Air  Line 
Railway. 

Whittlesey,  Geo.  P.,  Washington,  D.  C. ;  American 
Forestry  Association. 

White,  Aubrey,  Toronto,  Canada ;  Canada. 

White,  H.  D.,  Enid,  Okla. ;  Territory  of  Oklahoma. 

White,  W.  H.,  Warren  City,  Mich. ;  Hardwood  Manu- 
facturers' Association. 

White,  T.  Brook,  Portland,  Ore. ;  State  of  Oregon. 

Wiggins,  Vice-Chancellor  B.  L.,  Sewanee,  Tenn. ;  Uni- 
versity of  the  South. 

Williams,  A.  S.,  Berlin,  N.  H. ;  Berlin  Mills  Company. 

Williams,  F.  B.,  Patterson,  La.;  National  Lumber 
Manufacturers'  Association. 

Williams,  Irvin  C,  Harrisburg,  Pa. ;  Forestry  Academy 
and  Pennsylvania  Forestry  Association. 

Williams,  Mrs.  L.  P.,  MinneapoHs,  Minn.;  State  of 
Minnesota. 

Williams,  Hon.  M.  M.,  Little  Falls,  Minn.;  State  of 
Minnesota. 

Wilms,  William,  Chicago,  111.;  Hardwood  Manufac- 
turers' Association. 

Wilson,  H.  M.,  Washington,  D.  C. ;  U.  S.  Geological 
Survey  and  American  Society  of  Civil  Engineers. 


472  Proceedings  of  the 

Winchester,  A.  H.,  New  Orleans,  La. ;  Lumber  Trade     ' 
Journal. 

Winchester,  Col.  A.  H.,  Buckhannon,  W.  Va. ;  State  of 
West  Virginia. 

Wirt,  Geo.  H.,  Harrisburg,  Pa.;  Forestry  Academy 
and  Pennsylvania  Forestry  Association. 

Witten,  J.  W.,  Washington,    D.    C;    General    Land 
Office. 

Wood,     Richard,     Philadelphia,     Pa. ;     Pennsylvania 
Forestry  Association. 

Woodruff,  Geo.  W.,  Washington,  D.  C. ;  Bureau  of 
Forestry. 

Worden,  F.  E.,  Oshkosh,  Wis. ;  Northwestern  Hem- 
lock Manufacturers'  Association. 

Ziegler,  E.  A.,  Washington,  D.  C,  Saline  Valley  Tele- 
prone  Company. 


THE  AMERICAN  FORESTRY  ASSOCIA- 
TION 
President,  HON.  JAMES  WILSON 

Secretary  of  Agriculture 

The  American  Forestry  Association  was  organized 
in  1882,  and  incorporated  in  January,  1897.  It  now  has 
nearly  three  thousand  members,  residents  of  every 
State  in  the  Union,  Canada,  and  foreign  countries. 
It  has  at  all  times  been  active  in  promoting  measures 
tending  toward  the  proper  utilization  of  the  forests 
and  their  protection  from  destruction  by  fires  and 
wasteful  use. 

The  objects  of  this  Association  are  to  promote: 

1.  A  business-like  and  conservative  use  and  treat- 
ment of  the  forest  resources  of  this  country ; 

2.  The  advancement  of  legislation  tending  to  this 
end,  both  in  the  States  and  the  Congress  of  the 
United  States,  the  inauguration  of  forest  admin- 
istration by  the  Federal  Government  and  by  the 
States ;  and  the  extension  of  sound  forestry  by  all 
proper  methods ; 

3.  The  diffusion  of  knowledge  regarding  the  conser- 
vation, management,  and  renewal  of  forests,  the 
proper  utilization  of  their  products,  methods  of 
reforestation  of  waste  lands,  and  the  planting  of 
trees. 

The  Association  desires  and  needs  as  members  all 
who  are  interested  in  promoting  the  objects  for  which 
it  is  organized — all  who  realize  the  importance  of  us- 
ing the  national  resources  of  the  country  in  such  a  man- 


474  Proceedings  o?  the 

ner  as  not  to  exhaust  them,  or  to  work  ruin  to  other 
interests.  In  particular  it  appeals  to  owners  of  wood- 
lands, to  lumbermen  and  foresters,  as  well  as  to  engi- 
neers, professional,  and  business  men  who  have  to  do 
with  wood  and  its  manifold  uses,  and  to  persons  con- 
cerned in  the  conservation  of  water  supplies  for  irri- 
gation or  other  purposes. 

The  American  Forestry  Association  holds  annual  and 
special  meetings  at  different  places  in  the  country  for 
the  discussion  and  exchange  of  ideas,  and  to  stimulate 
interest  in  its  objects.  Forestry  and  Irrigation,  the 
magazine  of  authority  in  its  special  field,  is  the  official 
organ  of  the  Association,  and  is  sent  free  to  every 
member  monthly.  Its  list  of  contributors  includes  prac- 
tically all  persons  prominent  in  forest  work  in  the 
United  States,  making  it  alone  worth  the  cost  of 
annual  membership  in  the  Association. 

The  annual  dues  are,  for  regular  members,  $2.00, 
for  sustaining  members,  $25.00;  life  membership  is 
$100,  with  no  further  dues.  Any  person  contributing 
$1,000  to  the  funds  of  the  Association  shall  be  a 
Patron. 

H.  M.  SuTER,  Secretary. 
Address :  P.  O.  Box  356,  Washington,  D.  C. 


Library 


